
Gass 
Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



A 





Jacob Harris Patton, A. M., Ph. D. 




A POPULAR HISTORY 

OF 

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 

IN THE 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



BY 
JACOB HARRIS PATTON, A.M., Ph.D. 

AUTHOR OF 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED 
STATES ; NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE UNITED 
STATES; POLITICAL ECONOMY FOR AMERICAN 
YOUTH ; POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE UNITED 
STATES, ETC. 



ILLUSTRATED 



NEW YORK 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

436 FIFTH AVENUE 
1903 






/ COPY B. 



Copyright, 1903 
D. Appleton and Company 



L« ♦ •_ • 



t « c r c • 



THE AUTHOR RESPECTFULLY DEDICATES THIS HISTORY 

TO THE 
MINISTRY, THE ELDERSHIP AND THE PRIVATE MEMBERS 

OF THE 
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 



PREFACE. 

This volume is designed to trace concisely but clearly 
the History and Principles of the Presbyterian Church 
from the time of Henry VIII. to the close of the Gen- 
eral Assembly of 1903. The effort has been to present 
the facts in such history, and note their influence; mean- 
while, to give special attention to the all-important phase 
of the inner Christian life of the Church. In ascertain- 
ing the knowledge in respect to the latter subject, atten- 
tion has been directed, as occasion required, to the lives 
and labors of leading men in the ministry, as well as lay- 
men, around whom clustered influences for good, that 
often extended far and wide in their respective communi- 
ties, and even to the Church at large. 

The author has availed himself of highly important 
and original documents pertaining to the Congregational- 
ists and Presbyterians during the Colonial period. (See 
authorities consulted. ) 

When preparing his "Four Hundred Years of Amer- 
ican History," the attention of the author was often 
drawn to the influence of the Presbyterian Church during 
the last half century of the Colonial times and also during 
the current growth of our national life. This influence 
was felt upon the domestic and Christian as well as upon 
the political life of the people. In our country, governed 
as it is by representatives elected by the people them- 
selves, the moral connection between political and church 
life is consistent and peculiarly intimate. It therefore 
comes within the scope of this history to trace the influ- 
ences, good or bad, of the events and policies, whereby 
the condition of public affairs has incidentally aided the 
progress of the Church, and sometimes had a retarding 
effect, as in the case of war or of financial or industrial 
disturbances whereby all the citizens were more or less 
affected. 

The rule has been to record only those facts which have 



VI PREFACE. 

had influence, and to present them in such fulness that 
the reader may easily see their bearings upon the sub- 
ject in hand, and also to mould the history into a consecu- 
tive narrative, in order that the transition from one sub- 
ject to another may be easily seen. 

The reader will learn from its inner Christian life that 
it has always been a missionary church; that its prin- 
ciples of religious liberty repudiate absolutely the as- 
sumption of civil authorities to interfere in any respect 
zvhatever in religious affairs, but, on the other hand, to 
confine themselves strictly to protect the religious rights 
of all the citizens, without reference to matters of their 
belief. 

This volume is written in the hope of inducing intelli- 
gent Presbyterians of both sexes, especially the middle- 
aged and the younger portion, to become familiar with 
the remarkable history of their own church, in its early 
trials, and the great leading principles of its church pol- 
ity, by which the rights of the people — the church mem- 
bers — have ever been recognized and respected, and that 
while most strenuous in its adherence to the essential 
doctrines of the Gospel, yet in respect to non-essentials 
ever liberal. 

The illustrations consist of the portraits of some of 
the Presbyterian worthies who did so much to promote 
the cause of Christianity by their labors within their own 
Church. They were the men who, being efficiently sup- 
ported by brother ministers of lesser note, were enabled, 
in the latter part of the last century and the first half of 
this, to lay the foundations of the present benevolent in- 
stitutions of the Church, which to-day are so grandly 
exerting influence for good. Many others of these noble 
men have also been noticed in brief sketches under the 
title of "Presbyterian Worthies," who, working in uni- 
son, though often in different spheres, had the same ob- 
ject in view. 

NOTE: At the bottom of each picture are numbers 
designating the page in the book on which the person's 
name is mentioned. J. H. P. 



THE FOLLOWING AUTHORITIES HAVE BEEN 

CONSULTED. 

Historians of the Presbyterian Church: Rev. Drs. 
Charles Hodge, Richard Webster, Robert Davidson, 
Robert Thompson, and Lenord W. Bacon (the last two, 
VI., XIII. Ch. Hist. Series). Dr. E. H. Gillett, 2 vols., 
an admirable work, revised in 1864. Prof. Charles A. 
Briggs, American Presbyterianism, covering the Colonial 
period. The latter history has the merit of being greatly 
enriched by the use of original manuscript documents, 
which were ''unknown to previous historians" [of the 
Presbyterian Church], "with the single exception of 
those" [that were made public] "of the Society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." (See p. 94 
of this volume.) 

Prof. Briggs, during a sojourn in Great Britain in 
1884, availed himself of an opportunity in a dozen or 
more libraries — secular and ecclesiastical — to search for 
manuscript reports and documents that pertained to the 
Congregational and Presbyterian churches in America 
during the Colonial period. All the documents having a 
bearing on that subject he had transcribed under careful 
supervision, and afterward deposited the copies in con- 
venient volumes in the Library of Union Theological 
Seminary, New York City. Portions of these documents 
were published for the first time in an Appendix — pp. L- 
CXXII. — to American Presbyterianism. 

Drs. Robert Baird, "Religion in America"; Charles 
W. Baird, "Huguenot Emigration." Bishop Meade, 
"Old Churches of Virginia." Benedict, "History of the 
Baptists." Rev. Drs. Francis Hawks, "Episcopal Church 
in Virginia and North Carolina"; William H. Foote, 
"Sketches of Virginia"; Abel Stevens, "History of Meth- 
odism"; Sprague's "Annals of the American Pulpit"; 
"The Briggs Heresy Case," by Dr. John J. McCook, and 
the other documents pertaining to the same. 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. 

PAGE. 

American Presbyterianism. — Parity of the Ministry. — Elders 
or Presbyters. — The Bishops. — Paul and Timothy, Com- 
missioners. — The Reformers on Church Government. — 
Union of Church and State. — The Prelatical Form of 
Church Government I 

CHAPTER II. 

The Reformation in England. 

Magna Charta. — Wycklif and Tyndale's Translations. — Eng- 
lishmen's Rights. — The People's Voice in Church Gov- 
ernment. — Different Forms of Which. — Henry VIII. as 
Head of the Church. — Progress of the English People. — 
The Prelatical System. — The Puritan. — Union of Church 
and State in England. — The Exiles Abroad. — What They 
Learned 9 

CHAPTER III. 

Parity of the Ministry or Clergy. 

Significant Names. — The Term Rector. — The Non-Persecu- 
tors. — Partial Responsibility of a Subordinate. — Apos- 
tolic Succession 18 

CHAPTER IV. 

A Phase of the Reformation. 

A Religious Force. — Self-Supporting Church. — Its Spirit- 
uality Enhanced. — Jure Divino Doctrine. — True Relation 
of the State to the Church 27 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

Presbyterians and Puritans in Henry VIII.'s Reign. 

page. 

Confessions of Faith. — The Two Parties. — The Heroic Age. 
— Harmony of Beliefs. — The XXIX. Articles. . . 31 

CHAPTER VI. 

Presbyterians in the Reigns of Elizabeth and James. 

The Formation of a Presbytery. — The Independents Unor- 
ganized. — The Primitive Church Self-supporting. — King 
James — His Character. — James and the General Assem- 
bly. — The Influence of the Bishops. — Hopes Disap- 
pointed. — Migrations to Ireland. — The Culdee Church. — 
The Translation of the Bible 36 

CHAPTER VIL 
Sabbath Desecration — The Solemn League and Covenant. 

The Book of Sports. — Influence of the Sabbath. — The Con- 
tinental Sabbath. — The Solemn League and Covenant. — 
Why Were the Bishops Feared? — Effects of Trials and 
Persecutions. — Presbyterian Household Training. . 46 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Westminster Confession — Events Connected Therewith. 

The Parliamentary Ordinance. — Westminster Assembly. — 
Directory for Public Worship. — The Members of the 
Assembly. — Its Character. — Civil Commotions. — Apos- 
tolic Succession — Questions Thereon. — Cromwell's Do- 
ings. — The New Parliament. — The Divine Right for 
Church Government. — Plan for a State Church. . . 55 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER IX. 

Migrations to the Colonies — Congregational and Pres- 
byterian. 

page. 
Puritans in Virginia. — Policy of the Virginia Company. — 
Plymouth Colony. — A Presbyterian Church Organized. — 
Why the Presbyterians were Liberal. — Limited Influence 
of the Synod. — The Constitution of the Congregational 
Church. — Migrations of Presbyterians to New York. — 
Christian Brotherhood Practised. — Statement of Gov- 
ernor Andros. Influence of the Act of Toleration. . 66 

CHAPTER X. 

Contrasts in Landholdings — Cavaliers — Elders as Worthies. 

Royalists. — Berkeley's Prayer. — Why the Enmity ©f the 
Clergy. — The Charter for Maryland. — The Liberal Pol- 
icy. — The Repentant Chaplain. — Presbyterian Elders and 
Worthies. — Doughty and Hill. 76 

CHAPTER XL 

Francis Makemie — Presbyterianism in Several Colonies. 

Francis Makemie. — His Business Talents. — The Memorial 
Church. — A Stanch Defender of Religious Liberty. — A 
Presbyterian Church Organized. — Makemie's Trial. — 
Presbyterianism in New Jersey — In Delaware and Penn- 
sylvania. — In South Carolina. — Missionaries from New 
England. — A Colony Formed on the Isthmus of Darien. 82 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Presbytery of Philadelphia (1706). 

Presbytery Constituted. — The First Missionary Society. — 
"Heads of Department." — A Society for Propagating 
the Gospel. — Difficulties and Progress. — Introduction of 
the Eldership 91 



XII CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Persecutions and Trials. 

page. 
A Church and Parsonage Seized. — Bribery and Trickery. — 
The Case of the First Presbyterian Church. — A Law 
Misapplied 99 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Formation of a Synod. 

Missionary Funds. — Fraternal Intercourse. — Test and Schism 
Acts. — William Tennent. — The First Log College. — 
Guarding the Faith. — The Effects of the Adopting Act. 
— Liberal and Strict Subscription. — Presbyterians in 
Maine. — Transfer of the Log College. — Princeton Col- 
lege. — The Educational Fund. — The Leading Points of 
Influence 107 

CHAPTER XV. 
Origin of Presbyterianism in Virginia. 

Morris' Reading-House. — Persecutions and Petty Annoy- 
ances. — The Name Presbyterian. — Further Annoyances. 121 

CHAPTER XVI. 
The Log Colleges. 

The Bible Studied as a Whole. — The Two Academies — 
Hampden — Sidney. — Augusta Academy. — Theology 
Taught Separately. — Private Classical Schools. — Schools 
Beyond the Alleghanies (North). — Germs of Two Col- 
leges — Jefferson and Washington. — Study on Two Lines. 
— The Religious Influence. — Schools beyond the Alle- 
ghanies (South). — Greeneville College 127 



CONTENTS. XIII 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Presbyterian Settlements in the Shenandoah Valley. 

PAGE. 

Letters of the Synod and Governor Gooch. — Presbyterians 
in North Carolina. — Mission of Rev. William Robinson. 
— Dr. Samuel Davies. — An Incident. — The Presbyterians 
of Hanover County Specially Hated. — Modes of Levy- 
ing Church Rates. — The Mecklenburg Declaration. — A 
Sad History 137 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Revivals — Division and Reunion. 

Moravians and Pietists. — Influence of Pietism. — Differences 
of Opinion. — The Old Side. — New Side. — Division of the 
Synod. — Zeal for Religion. — The Reunion. — Long Island 
Churches 149 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Separation of Church and State in Virginia. 

The Half-Way Covenant. — Why the Harsh Intolerance in 
Virginia. — The Vagrant in Connecticut and New York. 
— Illiberal Laws in Virginia. — Freedom from Ecclesias- 
tical Clannishness. — Grades of Ministerial Education. — 
Severe Conflicts. — Efforts to Reform Clerical Morals. — 
Preachers Appointed by the Crown. — English Church 
Established. — Influence of an Educated Ministry. — Con- 
flicts in Respect to Salaries. — A Great Principle Estab- 
lished 159 

CHAPTER XX. 

Separation of Church and State — Continued. 

The Struggle Begins. — Committee on Religion and Morality. 
— The Petitions; The Demand as a Right. — Upon Whom 
Fell the Burden of the Conflict? — The Legislature Met 
on Its Own Ground. — Objectionable Laws Repealed. — 



XIV CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Prejudices Roused. — Tories. — Whigs. — Quakers. — The 
General Assessment. — Another Memorial. — Defects in 
the Law of Repeal. — Security for Religious Rights De- 
manded. — Protest against Incorporating the Episcopal 
Church. — General Assessment Again. — Effects of Peti- 
tions. — Contests in Respect to Glebes. — A Half-Century 
of Intolerance Remembered. — An Apology Urged. — Who 
Began the Movement and Secured the Result. — Religious 
Freedom and Patriotism. — Influence of the Measure in 
New England. — Slavery Opposed. — Personal Responsi- 
bility Recognized. — Self-Denial and Benevolence. — In- 
fluence of the Voluntary Principle. — A Nation's Moral 
Training 175 

CHAPTER XXI. 

The Troublous Times. 

Patriotism. — Pastoral Letter. — The Evil Influence. — The Two 
Movements. — Kinds of Church Government. — A Com- 
prehensive One. — Discordant and Rival States. . . 198 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The General Assembly Arranged For. 

Increase of the Church. — Four Synods Organized. — The Gen- 
eral Assembly Constituted. — The Address to President 
Washington; His Reply. — Doctrinal Truths Guarded. — 
A Christian Patriotism. — Ex-oMcio Members. — Vot- 
ing by Orders. — Ecclesiastical Despotism. . . . 205 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Presbyterian Movements in the South. 

The Migrations. — The Three Pioneer Ministers. — Retarding 
Influences. — The Sabbath Desecrated. — The Surveyor; 
His News. — The Founding of a Church. — The Planters 
of the Church in Tennessee. — A Peculiar Type of In- 
fidelity.— The Political Clubs. 214 







CONTENTS. XV 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Great Revival. 

page. 
Rev. James McGready. — Irreligious Conditions. — Character- 
istics of the Revival. — Injurious Divisions. — The In- 
fluence of the Revival. — Camp Meetings. — Uneducated 
Men Licensed to Preach. — Cumberland Presbyterians. — 
Another Great Revival. — The Counterpart. — The Re- 
vival Extends. — The Contrast 224 

CHAPTER XXV. 

The Way Prepared for the Plan of Union. 

Line of Migration. — Losses and Regains. — Interest in Mis- 
sions. — Plan of Union Suggested. — Presbyterial Govern- 
ment Preferred. — Why the Churches Prospered. — Why 
Western New York Prospered. — Result of Christian 
Effort. — Effects of the Great Revival. — Standing Com- 
mittees Appointed. — The Sad Interference. — Efforts in 
Favor of Temperance. — Reports on the Same. . . 235 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Presbyterian Worthies. 

Taggart, Dana, Morrison. — Blatchford, Nott, Porter. — Rod- 
gers, Perrine, Romeyn, Spring. — Richards, Griffin. — 
Green, the Alexanders, Miller, Finley. — Janeway, Wil- 
son, Skinner, Ely, Patterson. . . . . . . 246 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Presbyterian Worthies — Continued. 

Hoge, Rice. — John McMillan. — Porter, Power, Marquis, 
Dunlap, Ralston. — An Appreciative Estimate. — The 
Combined Influence 257 



XVI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Progress of the Church. 

page. 
Formation of National Societies. — The Western. — Educa- 
tional Societies, Their Union. — Duelling. — Opposition to 
Slavery, Deliverance on. — Francis Herron. — Revivals in 
the South. — Progress in Religion, How Promoted. — The 
Migration of a Church. — Prayer Meetings. — Union Meet- 
ings. — Drs. James Hall and S. E. McCorkle. . . . 265 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Progress of the Church — Continued. 

Drs. Ingles and Nevens. — Religious Interest in New Jersey. 
— Increase of the Church in New York State. — Dr. 
James Carnahan. — Associations and Presbyteries. — Re- 
ligion West of the Genesee. — Immigration. — Co-opera- 
tion ... 280 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Settlements and Churches in the West. 

Settlement of Marietta. — Revs. Story, Lindsley, Hughes. — 
Cincinnati Founded. — The First Church Organized. — 
Settlements in the Reserve. — Ministers of the Presby- 
tery of Ohio. — Rev. Joseph Badger. — Woman's Self- 
denying Labors. — Population and Preachers. . . 288 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Increase of the Church. 

Accessions from Other Bodies. — Reports on Revivals. — 
Board of Missions. — The Ex-oMcio Principle Suggested. 
— Efforts for an Educated Ministry. — Revivals in Col- 
leges. — Theological Seminaries. — Churches in Need of 
Pastors. — Domestic Missionary Society. — Charleston As- 
sociation, Its Action. — Psalmody, Intemperance, Sabbath 
Desecration. — Increasing Interest in Missions. — Deliver- 
ance on Slavery 301 



CONTENTS. XVII 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

Increase of the Church — Continued. 

page. 
Plans for Placing the Bible in Every Family. — Increased 
Missionary Efforts. — Home Missionary Society Formed. 
— Influence of the First Address of the Committee. — 
Eastern Christians Interested. — Destitutions. — The 
Church in New Orleans and Mobile. — In Huntsville. — 
In Georgia, Carolinas, Florida. — Church beyond the 
Mountains 310 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Theological Seminaries. 

Auburn Seminary. — Western or Allegheny. — Lane. — Centre 
of Population. — Religious Condition of the Great Valley. 
— Seminary at Maryville. — Oakland College. — Union 
Seminary, Virginia. — President Matthew Brown. . 318 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Louisiana Purchased. 

Indian Missions in the Southwest. — In Georgia. — The In- 
dians Removed. — Individual Influence. — Dr. Charles 
Coffin. — Dr. Isaac Anderson. — President of Maryville 
College. — The Migration of a Congregation, James White 
Stephenson. — Characteristic Zeal. — Gideon Blackburn. 326 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

New Orleans — The Towns up the River. 

The People of New Orleans. — Elias Cornelius. — Sylvester 
Larned. — Religion in the Towns up the River. — Samuel 
Royce. — Educational Society. — The American Board. — 
The Action ex Officio 338 

2 



XVIII CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

Numerous Revivals. 

page. 
Revivals in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. — In Kentucky, the 
Carolinas, and Georgia. — In Virginia. — The Sabbath, 
Sunday Mails. — The Famous Report on the Same. — 
Ratio of Representation in the Assembly. — Statistics of 
the Church 345 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

Societies — Churches — Colleges. 

Home Missions. — Organizing Churches. — Father Dickey. — 
Immigration of Farmers. — The Time of Commissions 
Limited. — The Church at the Capital of Indiana. — Rev. 
Isaac Reed. — Number of Churches and Ministers. — Mis- 
sionaries in Illinois. — Illinois College 353 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

Relation of Churches to Certain Presbyteries. 

Why the Interest in Missouri. — Religious Character of St. 
Louis. — The Tour of Samuel J. Mills. — Rev. Samuel 
Giddings. — Rev. Timothy Flint. — Reasons for the Mi- 
gration. — A Number of Missionaries. — John Matthews. 
— Missions in Michigan. — Traits of Early Settlers. — 
Labors of Rev. John Monteith. — Mission at the Straits 
of St. Mary. — The Reports. — Wives of Missionaries. . 364 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

A Change of Policy. 

Progress of the Church. — The Awakened Interest. — The 
Change within Thirty Years. — Areas of Missionary Ter- 
ritory compared. — What Presbyteries Had at Stake. — 
Church Discipline. — Irresponsibility of Voluntary So- 
cieties. — The Assembly's Board, and of Education. — Ele- 
ments That Caused Friction. — An Important Movement. 
— Scotch Presbyterians. — The Special Ground Taken. 380 



CONTENTS. XIX 

CHAPTER XL. 

Unsubstantiated Rumors. 

page. 
Conflict of Theological Opinions.— New Measures.— Unjust 
Suspicions. — An Important Rule Adopted. — Ministers 
Ordained Injudiciously 39 2 

CHAPTER XLI. 

The Trial of Albert Barnes. 

The Sermon. — Appeal to the Synod. — The Matter Submitted. 
— Elective Affinity. — Biblical Notes. — The Second Trial. 
— The Appeal to the Assembly. — Bible Study Promoted. 
— The Example Followed. — The Terms of Distinction. 399 

CHAPTER XLII. 

Trial of Dr. LymAn Beecher. 

A Feeling of Unrest. — The Recommendations. — Suspicions 
Disproved. — Dr. Beecher and Dr. Wilson. — The Charges 
Not Sustained. — Dr. Wilson Withdraws His Appeal. — 
Suggestive Considerations. — Abstract Phases of Thought. 408 

CHAPTER XLIII. 

Measures Leading to the Division. 

The New and the Old School. — Conditions on Which Min- 
isters Were Received. — The Charges in the Memorial. — 
The Protest Not Received. — The Act and Testimony. — 
Signers and Objectors to the Act. — A Convention 
Called. — The Effects of the Agitation. — Grievances. — 
Elective Affinity. — Changes of Opinion. — A Committee 
of Conference. — Misleading Statements. — Instructions 
Transcended. — Union Theological Seminary in New 
York City 416 



XX CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

The Division of the Church. 

page. 
Plans Lai" 1 for Future Action. — The Philadelphia Conven- 
tion. — Us Recommendations. — A Special Grievance. — 
The Assembly of 1837. — Expression of Good Will, Rea- 
sons for Action. — An Ominous Vote. — Amicable Division 
Proposed. — Excision of Synods. — Dealing with Presby- 
teries. — Board of Missions. — The Protests. — Errors 
Acted Upon. — The Connecticut Missionary Society. — Sad 
Statistics. — Difficulties in Attending General Assemblies. 
— The Action on Slavery. — The Pastoral Circular. . 430 

CHAPTER XLV. 

The Two Assemblies. 

Complaint and Acts of the Convention. — The Assembly of 
1838. — The Crisis Had Come. — The Old School Assem- 
bly. — The Question of Slavery. — The New School As- 
sembly. — Effort to Effect a Compromise. — The Two 
Civil Court Trials 448 

CHAPTER XLVI. 

The Two Assemblies — Continued. 

Synods Dissolved. — Abbreviated Creeds. — Ad Interim Com- 
mittee. — Two Plans for Mission Work. — An Indirect In- 
fluence. — Financial Disturbances 456 

CHAPTER XLVII. 

The Two Assemblies — Continued. 

Protests and Criticisms. — The Adjustments. — The Work of 
Both Assemblies. — Aloof from Slavery Agitation — Con- 
versions. — Difficulties in Co-operation. — The Secession 
of Synods. — The American Missionary Association. — 
The Revival of 1857 463 



CONTENTS. XXI 

CHAPTER XLVIII. 

The Two Assemblies — Continued. 

page. 
A Decided Stand Taken. — A Change in the Mode of Con- 
ducting Missions. — The Old School Unhindered. — Eman- 
cipation — The Freedmen. — Innovations Attempted. — 
Triennial Assemblies. — Protests. — Singular Results. . 472 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

The Reunion. 

Preparing for Reunion. — The Civil War. — Renewed Diffi- 
culties. — The Cry for Help. — The Committees on Re- 
union — the Basis. — Woman's Work. — Proffered Fra- 
ternity. — Synods Consolidated. — The Discipline Revised. 
— Statistics of Spiritual Progress. — The Presbyterial 
Centennial. — Church Periodical — Seminaries. — Revision 
Desired 480 

CHAPTER L. 

Presbyterian Worthies. 

Edward Robinson, Philip Lindsley. — Charles Hodge. — Will- 
iam Adams. — Henry Boynton Smith. — Robert Jefferson 
Breckinridge. — W. G. T. Shedd. — Daniel Baker. — Henry 
Little 493 

CHAPTER LI. 

Trial of Dr. Briggs. 

The Professorship Founded. — The Outline of Study. — His 
Inaugural ; Action Thereon. — The First Trial by the 
Presbytery. — The Second Trial Exaustivo. — Reason as 
an Authority. — The Stress on Reason. — The Pentateuch 
and Isaiah. — Progressive Sanctification. — The Soul in 
the Middle State. — Second Probation 511 



XXII CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER LII. 

PAGE. 

Errors or Discrepancies in the Bible. — The Two Citations. — 
Prejudices Excited. — Two Classes. — Facts to Be Consid- 
ered. — A Race Redemption. — The Minute Adopted. — In- 
errancy of the Bible. — A New Phase. — The Protest. — 
The Explanatory Resolution. — Misapprehensions.— A 
Review. — Comments. — The Outcome. — Second Protest. — 
Union Seminary Independent. . . . . . . 529 

CHAPTER LIII. 

Assemblies of 1894- 1899. 

Case of Professor Smith. — Comparison of Statistics. — In- 
creased Contributions. — The Rule. — Home Missions. — 
Effects for Good on Two Lines. — An Eventful Period. — 
The General Assembly of 1899 545 

CHAPTER LIV. 

Assemblies of 1898, 1899, 1900. 

Overtures on Triennial Assemblies. — The Assembly of 1899. 
— Patriots — Citizens and Christians 551 



LIST OF PORTRAITS. 



Jacob Harris Patton, A. M., Ph. D. 

Rev. Samuel Davies, D. D. . 

Rev. John Rodgers, D. D. 

Rev. John McMillan, D. D. . 

Rev. Archibald Alexander, D. D. 

Rev. Eliphalet Nott, D. D. . 

Rev. John Holt Rice, D. D. . 

Rev. Francis Herron, D. D. . 

Rev. Charles Coffin, D. D. . 

Rev. James Carnahan, D. D., LL. D. 

Rev. Gardiner Spring, D. D. . 

Rev. Philip Lindsley, D. D. . 

Rev. Charles Hodge, D. D. . 

Rev. Lyman Beecher, D. D. . 

Rev. Gideon Blackburn, D. D. 

Rev. Matthew Brown, D. D., LL. D. 

Rev. Albert Barnes 

Rev. Robert J. Breckinridge, D. D., LL. D. 

Rev. Edward Robinson, D. D., LL. D. 

Rev. Henry Boynton Smith, D. D., LL. D. 



FACING 

Frontispiece 



/ 



4 8 

78 
I08 
I30 ' 
l6o * 
186 ■ 
2l8 , 
244 ■ 
282 

304 
316 

340 

370 - 

39O < 

404 

416 

436 

492 

502 



xxin 



A POPULAR HISTORY 

OF THE 

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



i. 

To have a clear conception of the principles and or- 
ganization of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
States of America, it is essential to trace its origin in 
Europe, especially its history in Great Britain. From 
the latter country Presbyterian immigrants introduced 
into this land that form of church government and 
internal policy, which, in consequence of distinctive 
features, has been characterized as American Presby- 
terianism. 

This denomination holds and practises the theory of 
a church government by elders or presbyters — these 
words being the same in meaning, while from the lat- 
ter the name is derived. This form of government 
combines the democratic principle with the represen- 
tative or republican, inasmuch as the church members 
elect the elders as their representatives, thus utilizing 
the wisdom, the influence, and the experience of their 
best men. It also brings into view two distinct fea- 
tures : one recognizing the parity of the ministry or 
clergy (page 1 8) , the other the right of the church mem- 
bers — in political phrase, the people — to have a voice 



2 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

in such government by means of lay representatives or 
elders of their own choosing. 

The main principles in accordance with which the 
Presbyterian Church in the United States is governed 
were held and virtually acted upon by the reformed 
churches on the continent of Europe immediately after 
the commencement of the Reformation (151 7). This 
may be said of all those who held the parity of the 
ministry: the Huguenots in France, the Church of 
Holland, the Lutherans in Germany, and the churches 
in Geneva, Switzerland. The parity of the ministry 
was in contradistinction to the Roman Catholic hierar- 
chy, or form of priestly rule, and the latter 's modifica- 
tion in the Church of England. Thus there was a radi- 
cal difference in the mode of government between the 
reformed churches and the latter two. The parity of 
the clergy or ministry is based on our Lord's positive 
statement : " One is your Master even Christ ; and ye 
are brethren. " 

Elders or Presbyters. — Whatever may have been the 
form of church government among the children of 
Israel, it is evident from the records thereof that the 
order of elders played an important part from the ear- 
liest times, even when they were in bondage in Egypt. 
These elders appear to have been heads of families or 
tribes, their authority being patriarchal or paternal; 
they were also, it would seem, representatives of the 
people at large (Ex. iii. 16, 18 and iv. 29-31). This 
order of rulers, evidently established by Divine author- 
ity, was extended and fostered by Moses, and kept up, 
it may have been, in a modified form during the kingly 
rule, and while they were captives at Babylon; and 
after their return to Judea was continued till the time 
of Christ. During all this time, as incidentally noted 
in the New Testament, the elders appear to have been 



A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 3 

associated in the government with the scribes and chief 
priests, but they were not of either order. The rulers 
of the synagogue were termed elders, they being elected 
because of their age — as the name implies — and other 
qualifications. The title was given to those who con- 
ducted the religious services of the synagogue, such as 
reading the Law, expounding its meaning and prayer. 
This form of government, naturally, passed over from 
the Jewish synagogue into the Christian churches that 
were organized among the converts from that faith, as 
well as among those from the Gentile world. At this 
early period of the church the presbyters or elders were 
"the regular teachers or pastors, preachers and leaders of 
the congregations — the term presbyter is no doubt of 
Jewish-Christian origin, a translation of the Hebrew 
title applied to the rules of the synagogue." 

It was very natural that that form of church govern- 
ment should be transferred with modifications growing 
out of the existing circumstances to the Christian 
churches composed of Jewish converts, and afterward 
to those that were organized among the Gentile Chris- 
tians. The Jewish people looked upon this mode of gov- 
erning and of giving instruction in their synagogues as 
having the sanction of Divine authority. 

The Bishops. — The word "bishop" — episkopos — (over- 
seer) applies to the official duties of the elders or pres- 
byters, as teachers or pastors of congregations. These 
terms were used interchangeably, they being synony- 
mous, as when Paul sent from Miletus (Acts xx. 17, 28) 
to Ephesus and called the presbyters or elders of the 
church in that city. In his address to them in the 28th 
verse he says: "Take heed to yourselves and to all the 
flock in the which the Holy Spirit has made you bishops" 
— overseers — Greek episkopous. It will be noticed that 
these terms are in the plural, and the connection shows 



4 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

that they apply equally to the same persons — the elders, 
the presbyters or the bishops, the latter word expressing 
one phase of the official character of the persons in rule 
in the churches at Ephesus. These elders or presbyters 
appear to have been equal in authority, no one superior 
to another — this is in accordance with the parity of the 
ministry as announced by our Lord when he said, as has 
been noted, "All ye are brethren, I am Master." In one 
instance Paul (Phil. i. i) addresses the saints in Christ 
Jesus with the bishops and deacons — the plural form 
again. In this passage he does not use the terms pres- 
byters or elders ; these different official designations were 
used one for the other, as in Acts xx., as just cited. The 
custom of thus naming the officers in the churches pre- 
vailed at that time ; and still further, these names being in 
the plural corroborate the theory that they were thus 
used because they were in meaning synonymous. Again, 
in Paul's charge to Titus (Titus ii. 5, 6) to appoint eld- 
ers (presbyters) he uses the plural. Afterward in the 
same connection he defines what should be the qualifi- 
cations of each one of these elders, but in speaking of the 
individual he uses the singular only. The office of the 
modern bishop of a diocese or district does not appear 
to be foreshadowed in these passages. "The office of the 
early bishops, when they became distinguished from other 
presbyters, was not at all a roving episcopate. It was a 
local or parochial episcopate or superintendency — as com- 
pletely so as the office of any Congregational or Presby- 
terian pastor at the present day." {Prof. G. P. Fisher.) 
Paul and Timothy's Commissions. — When writing to 
Timothy (Tim. iv. 14) Paul urges him not to "neglect 
the gift that is in thee which was given thee by prophecy 
with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery (pres- 
buteron — the eldership — referring to the ceremony that 
was used in ordaining or licensing a presbyter to preach 



A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 5 

the gospel. Paul also relates of himself (Acts xxii. 5) 
that by order of the eldership — perhaps of the Jewish 
sanhedrim — he was commissioned to go to Damascus on 
a persecuting errand. It will be noticed that in the case 
of licensing Timothy, it was not the laying on of the 
hands of one man as a bishop appointed for the purpose, 
but of the whole body of presbyters collectively. 

The transition in the general mode of government from 
the Jewish Church into the Christian, was so natural and 
simple that there was no necessity to give an explanation 
of the process, hence the mode is mentioned only inciden- 
tally as being well known to those living at the time. This 
mode of government by elders had the Divine sanction in 
the Jewish Church, God being King and Master. 

The Reformers on Church Government. — It was not 
strange in the great Reformation commencing in 15 17, 
when the prominent leaders became more and more fa- 
miliar with the system of government that prevailed in the 
primitive church, as traced incidentally in the ac- 
counts given in the gospels and in the epistles or writ- 
ings of the Apostles. They there learned of the parity 
of the ministry, and that the form of government by eld- 
ers or representatives of the church members had passed 
over from the Jewish Church into that of the Christian. 
And also, that the latter did not depart from the usual 
form of government, but only separated themselves from 
their Jewish brethren, inasmuch as they accepted the spir- 
itual truths proclaimed by Jesus in relation to himself and 
his mission as the Messiah, which truths the Jews re- 
jected. They also learned that when Christian churches 
were formed among the Gentiles, the Apostles continued 
the system of church government already existing in the 
churches in Jerusalem. They learned still further from 
profane and ecclesiastical history, that in the course of 
ages, as the result of the union of Church and State, there 



6 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

grew up another form of church government, which was 
in violation of the principle, "All ye are brethren," and 
out of which arose a class of superiors in the church 
known as bishops. Those of the latter who lived in the 
cities gradually assumed precedence of their fellows liv- 
ing in the suburban districts — they claiming the title of 
archbishop or metropolitan. The simple and primitive 
government by presbyters, the representatives of the 
church members or people, was thus superseded by the 
unpaternal and unrighteous assumption of these eccle- 
siastics. This assumption did not end here, but in time 
culminated in the Papacy and its various grades of church 
rulers, to the entire exclusion of the lay representatives as 
found in the primitive church. The true Reformers, there- 
fore, rejected the papal system of government as being 
unscriptural, and so constituted as to exalt certain men 
into positions in the church, not by the choice or votes of 
the church members, but by appointments often made by 
secular influence. This mode was contrary to the primi- 
tive form and to our Lord's fundamental injunction upon 
his disciples, that they "being brethren/' were not to 
usurp authority over one another. The Reformers uni- 
versally rejected the papal form of church government, 
and even characterized its head as the "Anti-Christ," con- 
cerning whom, long ages before, prophecy had warned 
the saints. 

The Union of Church and State had been in existence 
from the age of Constantine — 300 A. D. — and was in 
full vigor in the time of Luther. The impression in that 
day was that the church in some way ought to be de- 
pendent for pecuniary support upon the state, and the 
latter on that theory assumed to regulate its affairs — 
both secular and spiritual. Hence, the Lutheran churches, 
though repudiating such rule, were forced to accept a 
church government by officers styled "consistories," who 



A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 7 

were appointed by the several princes then ruling in Ger- 
many. The Reformers, however, as they progressed in 
their knowledge of spiritual truths, as derived from the 
study of the sacred Scriptures, were led to notice the 
evil influence that fell upon the spirituality of the church 
members in consequence of the appointments of eccle- 
siastical instructors that were made by the secular au- 
thorities. Hence the Church of Holland, the Hugue- 
nots and the Church of Geneva, with John Calvin leading, 
virtually repudiated the secular rule, and went back 
to the spiritual, which prevailed in the primi- 
tive church. The latter had no secular pecuniary 
aid, but was self-supporting. Meantime the Jewish ec- 
clesiastical authorities, as well as the heathen Roman gov- 
ernment, were both bitterly opposed to the spiritual doc- 
trines of the Christian system. 

The Prelatical Form of Government. — In Great Britain 
there grew up a modified form of church government de- 
rived from that of Rome and known as Prelatical; the 
latter has in it the elements of the papacy, but it has hither- 
to reached only as high as the Archbishop of Canterbury 
— the primate of all England. This system was the direct 
outgrowth of the union of Church and State — to relate the 
full history of the process by which this result was at- 
tained is beyond the scope of this narrative. 

In the prelatical system of church government in Eng- 
land the only element that prevented its culminating in a 
sort of popedom was that a majority of its clergy or 
ministers believed and preached the fundament doctrines 
of the Bible and of the primitive church, in respect to the 
plan of salvation through the atonement of Christ. 
Though trammeled by the secular and often irreligious 
influence of the union of Church and State, the labors 
of these godly ministers are grand in the field of theology, 
and have been fraught with untold blessings from that 



8 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

day to this to the English-speaking people of the world. 
The English people of that day were far better prepared 
than any other in Europe to receive and appreciate the 
doctrines of the Bible, because, as we shall see, the knowl- 
edge of its truths to a much greater extent had permeated 
their minds than in the case of the people on the conti- 
nent. In addition they had clearer conceptions of their 
civil rights. 



II. 

The Reformation in England. 

The Reformation in England, owing to peculiar cir- 
cumstances, assumed one phase that was not possible to 
the same extent on the Continent. That was the intelli- 
gent interest and the earnest part which the common 
people took in the matter. The English, says D'Aubigne, 
the historian of the Reformation, were better prepared to 
accept the religious movement under Luther than any 
other of the nations of Europe, because they had more 
knowledge than they of the Bible and its truths. They 
also had more advanced ideas of civil liberty; that 
knowledge enabled them to see the consistency of the 
principles held forth in the Bible in connection with the 
freedom of man. 

Magna Charta. — The barons, virtually the representa- 
tives of the people, had compelled John — a most tyran- 
nical king — to give them the famous Magna Charta in 
121 5. This document secured to the English people, 
though after many struggles with arbitrary kings and 
rulers, what they called "Englishmen's Rights." The 
first instance, as far as we know, of the Scriptures being 
given in their own tongue to the English, was the Anglo- 
Saxon version of 995 A. D. This version had influence, 
no doubt, in enabling the people to appreciate their indi- 
vidual rights as secured by the great Charta. In the cen- 
tury (1324- 1 384) following the granting of the latter, 
appeared John Wyclif, who translated the Vulgate into 
English, and who also boldly proclaimed the doctrine — in 
3 



IO A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

contradiction of the assumed authority of the Pope — that 
the Holy Scriptures were the only supreme authority in 
the church. Saying: "The Holy Spirit teacheth us the 
sense of Scripture, as Christ opened the Scripture to His 
Apostles." The English-speaking people in every land 
ought to recognize the obligations they are under to that 
remarkable man. He was one of the most learned men 
of his age ; he received from Oxford the degree of Doctor 
of Divinity with the title of "Evangelical Gospel Doctor," 
which implies he made the Bible a special study. His 
translation of it laid the foundation for that well known 
superiority of Bible knowledge among the English-speak- 
ing people, when compared with that of their contem- 
poraries. 

His translation was laboriously transcribed by the pen, 
as printing had not yet been invented. These manuscripts 
were costly and held by the people as sacred treasures 
above all price. The Catholic priests did all they could 
to destroy them, and thus prevent their circulation. These 
Scriptures with the Magna Charta kept the English far in 
advance of those on the Continent in respect to their ideas 
of religious and civil liberty. The followers of Wyclif 
for more than a century after this period continued to 
preach the same doctrines to the people at large. For 
such preaching many of them suffered martyrdom. Wy- 
clif was the Morning Star of the Reformation, as he pre- 
ceded John Huss nearly half a century — Wyclif died in 
1384, and Huss perished at the stake in 14 15. 

Tyndale's Translation of the Bible. — In the following 
century (1484-1531) William Tyndale, "a hunted man 
of the people," also translated the Bible into the common 
language. This version was far in advance of that of 
Wyclif, derived from the Vulgate alone. Printing was 
invented by Gutenberg about 1450, and, in consequence, 
the circulation of the Scriptures among the common people 



THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. II 

was very much increased. For thus giving the word of 
God to his countrymen in their own tongue, Tyndale suf- 
fered martyrdom on October 6, 1536. His last audible 
prayer was : "Lord, open the eyes of the King of Eng- 
land." Henry VIII. died eleven years afterward, but he 
had previously ordered a Bible — Tyndale's translation — 
to be placed in every church in England, and there fas- 
tened to the desk, but free for the people to read for them- 
selves, or have it read to them. In this way the people 
at large were trained in religious knowledge and also in 
civil rights. 

Englishmen's Rights. — It is not strange that under such 
training for two centuries or more that the English people 
demanded and acquired for themselves what they were 
proud to call "Englishmen's Rights." These "Rights" 
included civil and religious liberty to an extent at that 
time nowhere else known; these sentiments gave a great 
impulse to the principles embodied in the Reformation, 
when the latter were made known to the people at large, 
whose minds were thus prepared to accept them. The 
English reformers, when in search of the mode of gov- 
ernment in the primitive church, went to the New Testa- 
ment, wherein they found that the members of the church 
had a voice in their religious affairs. 

The People Have a Voice in Church Government. — 
This practical knowledge of civil rights led the English 
people and their ministers or pastors to institute in ac- 
cordance with the manner of the primitive church a form 
of government in which the church members had a voice. 
This mode is learned only from incidents casually men- 
tioned in the New Testament. For illustration, in Acts, 
Chapter vi. is given an account of the reasons for the 
institution of the office of deacon, and also the manner 
in which deacons were chosen. They were elected by the 
church members, and as such presented to the Apostles; 



12 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

"and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on 
them." The same form or ceremony of the "laying on of 
hands of the presbyters" is recorded incidentally in Tim- 
othy (I. Tim. iv. 14. ), when a preacher of the word was 
commissioned. Here we learn of two classes of officers 
in the church government — deacons and elders or pres- 
byters. As the Apostles applied rules or ceremonies to 
suit the exigencies of their times, so did the English Re- 
formers adopt on the same principle a mode of church 
government that was adapted to their own times, after 
they had thrown off the authority and mode of the Ro- 
mish hierarchy. 

All the Reformers fell back upon the general principles 
of church government, which were inferred from the inci- 
dental mention of the same in the New Testament. They 
adopted the government by presbyters — those who were 
to teach the people, or the ministry or ruling elders, whose 
duties were to aid in" ministering to the spiritual wants 
of the flock; but both were the servants, in a Christian 
sense, of the church members. 

The government by representatives elected by the 
church members, under the names of elders or presby- 
ters, obtains in the Reformed churches on the Continent 
of Europe. They are, however, all in contrast with the 
Roman Catholic rule, in which the people have no voice, 
and formerly to a gre^at extent with the prelatical mode 
that prevails in the Church of England, and also in the 
Episcopal in the United States. In the latter country, 
among the descendants of the former class of churches on 
the Continent, are the Church of Holland's daughter, the 
Reformed Dutch, the German Reformed, and the Lu- 
theran. 

Different Forms of Church Government. — At the time 
of which we write, in England the voice of the people was 
much more pronounced than it was on the Continent, 



THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 1 3 

owing to their being better trained in civil affairs and the 
exercise of ''Englishmen's rights." In consequence of 
this influence, the denominations assumed significant 
names as Congregationalists or Independents — because 
each church was independent of any sister church — they 
were practically democratic, as the government of their 
churches was in the hands of the individual members of 
the congregation, and who voted direct on all church 
questions. The Presbyterian system was equally as dem- 
ocratic in principle as the Congregational, since the 
power was also in the hands of the church members. As 
a matter of expediency, and to avail themselves of the 
services of their best men, the members of individual 
churches choose those of their own number whom they 
deem competent, because of their general knowledge and 
piety, to represent them in any form that was necessary 
to good order. These representative laymen are known as 
elders or presbyters — the latter term was applied only to 
the minister or pastor. The Presbyterian system is dem- 
ocratic-republican. 

Henry VIII. as Head of the Church. — Theological dis- 
cussions arose between the Reformers and the advocates 
of the Roman Catholic Church, in which the spiritual char- 
acteristics and doctrines of the latter were subjected to 
searching inquiries, as to their consistency with the truths 
of the Bible. These controversies led to a diligent study 
of the doctrines found in the word of God, not alone by 
the learned among the English Reformers, but also by the 
people themselves, especially those w!k> had access to the 
sacred volume. The contest became of absorbing interest 
to all. These religious conflicts continued through the 
reign of Henry VIII., who, meanwhile, on his own ac- 
count, had a personal quarrel with the Pope, in which he 
unceremoniously severed the English Church from the 
authority of Rome, and had the audacity to place himself 



14 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

at its head. A man of the moral character of Henry was 
unable to appreciate the religious elements of a Chris- 
tian church, which he looked upon as so dependent on the 
State that it could be properly used to promote purely 
secular ends, as well as his own private designs, though 
the latter might be immoral in their character. With 
him the religious phase of the question, of which he haa 
no realizing sense, was of secondary importance, though 
it was all -important in the eyes of his Christian subjects. 

The Progress of the English People. — During these 
years of trial the Christian people of England were grop- 
ing their way to a higher plane of religious intelligence 
and political freedom. The transition from civil liberty to 
the recognition of the rights of conscience was gradual, 
but some of its universal reception by that portion of the 
people who were sufficiently intelligent to take in the 
whole situation. 

These complex ideas gradually penetrated the minds of 
great numbers of the common people who had access to 
the word of God. To understand the remarkable progress 
that was made during these centuries in this direction, 
we must take into consideration the unusual self-reliance 
of the people, and the organizing characteristics of the 
Anglo-Saxon race, which seemed to be specially endowed 
with a genius for self-government. This element came 
into play in the organization of the forms of church gov- 
ernment that obtained in England. The system of the 
union of Church and State was antagonistic to this free- 
dom of action exercised by the Puritan ministers of the 
gospel, and still more to the laity taking part in church 
government. The spirit of arbitrary rule in the Roman 
Catholic Church in the time of Henry VIII. was trans- 
ferred under him to the affairs of the Church of England ; 
though a strong opposition to that domineering spirit was 
found within the ranks of the sturdy lay members. 



THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 1 5 

Prelatical System. — So great was the desire of the 
Puritan ministers to promote vital piety among the peo- 
ple themselves, that they looked upon the mode of church 
government as of secondary consideration when com- 
pared with that supreme object. They wished a church 
stripped of the excrescences and superstitious errors which 
during the Middle Ages had vitiated the spiritual princi- 
ples and ordinances of the primitive church. On the \ 
other hand, the prelatical system established by King 
Henry and fostered by his daughter, Queen Elizabeth, 
during her long reign, made the Church and State depend- ^ 
ent upon one another. In addition the ground was taken 
that all, both ministers and people, ought in their wor- 
ship conform to the mode and ceremonies instituted by 
the bishops or prelatists. The Puritans looked upon any 
form of church government, when religious liberty was 
not infringed, as of secondary importance, and when this 
arbitrary demand was made at the instigation of the bish- 
ops, they preferred to go back for their model of church 
government to the primitive church, and also to be taught 
and governed by spiritual teachers and rulers of their 
own choosing, rather than by those appointed by the sec- 
ular authorities, often composed of irreligious men. 

The Puritan System. — There were differences of 
opinion among the Puritans in relation to the mode of 
church government. Some preferred Independency or 
Congregationalism, and others the presbyterial or repre- 
sentative form, but as the mode was non-essential to the 
great end they had in view, that of preaching the gospel, 
these differences interfered but little with their fraternal 
relations with one another. Afterward, however, when 
ambitious men, more worldly than humbly pious, endeav- 
ored to have the government adopt one or the other to be 
supported by the State, the uniform fraternal feeling with- 
in the ranks of the Puritans was somewhat diminished, 



1 6 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

as was the case in the time of the troubles incident to the 
Commonwealth era, more than half a century later. 

Origin of the Union of Church and State. — As the 
church from the time of Constantine (about 300, A. D.) 
had been in connection with the state, that came to be con- 
sidered as its normal condition. The Reformers did not 
at once grasp the many spiritual difficulties that arose 
from the connection ; they had advanced only so far as to 
discover the injury to spiritual religion in having irre- 
ligious men as government officials appointing clergy- 
men to positions in the church. Such officials were us- 
ually incompetent to appreciate the spiritual and Christian 
qualifications that were essential to the correct perform- 
ance of the duties of the minister or pastor. Thus it was 
in the Church of England from the time of Henry VIII. 
forward. The question as to the good or evil effects of 
the system is not yet settled, neither in England nor in 
some countries on the Continent, wherein the salaries of 
certain preachers are paid by the government. From the 
nature of the case, preachers or bishops thus dependent 
for their living or position in the church, must be more 
or less trammeled in their ministrations, though often, 
perhaps, unconsciously. 

The Exiles Abroad — What They Learned. — We can- 
not go into detail of the struggles of the Puritans — Inde- 
pendents and Presbyterians — for nearly a century in 
working out the system that they afterward accepted as 
the best form of church government. Persecution by the 
prelatical party at different times drove numbers of these 
ardent men into exile. They went to the Continent, and 
because of the greater freedom enjoyed there, numbers 
made their homes for the time in Switzerland. There 
they learned more clearly concerning the Presbyterian 
form of government and the scriptural authority for its 
institution. Through the influence of John Calvin that 



THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 1 7 

system had been adopted at Geneva, which city has been 
characterized as at that time, "The Metropolis of the 
Reformed faith, which system was consolidated by Cal- 
vin." When these exiles returned home after the perse- 
cutions relaxed, they wished that simple, yet comprehen- 
sive system to be adopted in England. 

So little importance did the Puritans attach to the form 
of church government, which they in one sense deemed 
non-essential, that they were willing as a compromise that 
there should be bishops — that is, ministers, placed over a 
district or diocese, if such bishops were to be responsible 
to the presbytery, a representative body of the minis- 
ters and elders of the church. They contended that a 
bishop was still a presbyter; no matter how high the 
position in which his brethren placed him, he was still a 
presbyter — the highest order in the primitive church. 
The President of the United States is promoted by his 
fellow-citizens to be the chief servant of the people, yet 
he is still a citizen, and on the same principle the minis- 
ter promoted to be a bishop by his fellow-presbyters is 
still a presbyter. Even John Knox — that staunch pres- 
byterian — "held episcopacy to be lawful, but not con- 
venient; an allowable form of government, but not the 
purest or the best." Andrew Melville, another Scotch 
reformer, "held episcopy to be unlawful — opposed to 
Scripture — allowable in no circumstances." 



III. 

The Parity of the Ministry or Clergy. 

The parity of the gospel ministry is based on the words 
of our Lord to his disciples (Matt, xxiii. 8, 10) : "One 
is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren;' 
and apparently to make the statement more emphatic he 
subjoins: "Neither be ye called masters; for one is your 
Master, even Christ;" to illustrate still further He adds: 
"But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant." 
From these passages it is a clear inference that the parity 
of the gospel ministry is of divine origin as was the parity 
among the disciples themselves. The same principle our 
Lord illustrates again and again. When the ten heard 
of the petition of the two sons of Zebedee (Matt. xx. 20- 
29) "they were moved with indignation against the two 
brethren." But the Lord rebukes them by saying : "Who- 
soever will be great among you, let him be your servant." 
On another occasion, to rebuke their worldly ambition in 
"wishing to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven," mean- 
ing thereby a temporal one (Matt, xviii. 1-4), he placed 
in their midst a little child, saying: "Except ye be con- 
verted and become as little children, ye shall not enter 
into the kingdom of heaven." The declaration of our 
Lord, that ye are brethren ; I am your Master, is as strong 
in its assertion as that made again and again in the old 
dispensation that Jehovah, alone, was King in Israel. 

The phrase "whosoever will be great among you, let 
him be your minister," can mean nothing more than when 
the presbyters or ministers choose, because of his fit- 



THE PARITY OF THE MINISTRY OR CLERGY. 1 9 

ness, one of their number for some particular office, in 
which his special ability can be utilized for the benefit 
of the whole — such an one is honored as their chief ser- 
vant. He is thus, for the time being, placed in a prom- 
inent but temporary position; meanwhile, his status 
among his fellow presbyters remains the same and is not 
affected by the highest honors that can be conferred 
upon him by his brethren. Had this spirit of brotherly 
equality and the injunction to love one another, together 
with the application of the Golden Rule, prevailed in the 
church through the ages, there would have been no op- 
portunity for one man or set of men to usurp authority 
over the church members and their pastors — in conse- 
quence there would have been no Pope nor Archbishop of 
Canterbury. 

Significant Names. — The titles given»their preachers or 
religious teachers by these denominations, who receive the 
parity of the ministry as a truth derived from Holy Scrip- 
ture, are very significant — such as minister; that is, one 
who ministers to the spiritual wants of the church mem- 
bers; an office held in high honor. The word is de- 
rived from the Latin, and means a servant. The word 
pastor is also used, but it applies more fully to a minister 
in charge of a church or congregation. Pastor is likewise 
of Latin, origin, but it is a perfect translation of its Greek 
counterpart, which means a shepherd. In the New Tes- 
tament the word designates the person who takes care 
of the flock or the members of the church. This* form 
of expression came over from the Old Testament use of 
the Hebrew word meaning a shepherd, as seen in nu- 
merous illustrations in the Psalms and elsewhere. 

The terms minister or pastor are designed to designate 
the kindly offices of those who bear to church members 
the endearing relation of a religious teacher and adviser ; 
and who is a sympathizer in time of trouble and trials, 



20 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

which may be in the form of spiritual doubts, or of do- 
mestic sorrows, that so often cross the paths of the Chris- 
tian, as well as of those who are not of the fold of Christ. 

The Term Rector. — When we come to the prelatical 
form of church government, we find instead of the terms 
minister or pastor that of rector. This word is derived 
from a Latin verb, signifying to rule. It carries with it, 
therefore, the savor of master as a ruler, and is devoid of 
the idea of consolation and trust that is associated with 
the name of minister or pastor. The latter title suggests 
the kindly care of the real shepherd toward his flock, 
which sentiment is applied in a figurative sense to the 
pastor of the members of a church or congregation — his 
flock. The term shepherd is found in the Old Testament 
in numerous instances expressing in corresponding figu- 
rative language the love of God for his people. Even 
Homer describes one of his best heroes as the shepherd 
of his people. 

The term rector, in designating the religious teacher 
and guide of the membership of a Christian church, is 
unauthorized in the New Testament in form and in spirit. 
In spite of this misnomer, as to title, we find in our day 
rectors in the Episcopal Church who are devoted minis- 
ters and pastors of the members of their respective 
charges. 

The term minister or pastor is used in the Methodist 
Episcopal Church; the jurisdiction of their bishops is 
not limited to dioceses, but pertains to the whole church. 
They rejected the term presbyter, but retained that of 
elder, its translation. 

The question suggests itself, why did the worthies of 
the Church of England discard the name minister, as used 
by our Lord himself, and as used by Paul, for the term 
rector? History supplies the answer. The word rector 
as applied in this connection, is the outgrowth of the 



THE PARITY OF THE MINISTRY OR CLERGY. 21 

absolute and arbitrary rule within the Roman Catholic 
Church, which appeals to priestly authority alone and re- 
pudiates the laity having a voice in the government of 
that church. This arbitrary spirit of the Roman priest- 
hood and method of church government passed over in a 
somewhat diluted form from that of Rome into the 
Church of England. In like manner the latter has imi- 
tated quite often certain ceremonies of the former. The 
Church of England's daughter, the Episcopal Church 
in the United States, when adapting its organization to 
the new order of things, after the adoption of the Fed- 
eral Constitution, unfortunately followed the Mother 
church in retaining the title rector, instead of using terms 
so expressive and consoling as minister or pastor. 

The Non-Persecutors. — It is an interesting question, 
and worthy of study, why those denominations which held 
and practised the parity of the ministry never have perse- 
cuted their fellow-Christians because of their religious 
opinions. To this noble class belong the Church of Hol- 
land, the Waldenses, Huguenots, the Lutherans on the 
continent of Europe, while in Great Britain and in her 
colonies are found in the same category the Independ- 
ents, the Presbyterians and the Baptists. These denom- 
inations have different views on non-essential points, but 
they all acknowledge that they are brethren, according to 
the Lord's injunction to his disciples. 

History records cases of harsh measures against cer- 
tain persons on a part of a few who held the doctrine 
of the parity of the ministry, as for illustration in the case 
of Roger Williams. In the latter instance it was not 
at all because of his purely religious opinions, but of his 
political, which the Puritans of Massachusetts thought 
would destroy all order and government. Roger Wil- 
liams, though possessing many admirable traits of char- 
acter, was certainly very eccentric. "He separated him- 



22 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

self not only from the English Church, but from all who 
would not separate from it and from all who would not 
separate from the latter, and so on, until he could no 
longer, for conscience' sake, hold fellowship with his 
wife in family prayers. After long patience the colonial 
government deemed it necessary to signify to him that 
if his conscience would not suffer him to keep quiet and 
refrain from stirring up sedition and embroiling the col- 
ony with the English government, he would have to seek 
freedom for that sort of conscience outside of their juris- 
diction, and they put him out accordingly, to the great 
advantage of both parties and without loss of mutual re- 
spect and love." (Am. Church History Series, Vol. XIII. , 
p. ioo, L. W. Bacon.) 

But these cases of harsh measures were sporadic, while 
the persecutions of the Romish hierarchy and prelates 
of the Church of England were for religious opinions 
alone and on principle, a bad one to be sure, but never- 
theless on principle. The prelates or bishops in colonial 
times instigated persecutions in the American colonies, 
more or less annoying, against those whom they charac- 
terized "dissenters," until such power was taken away 
by the adoption of the Constitution of the United States 
in 1788, which act, established in this land religious lib- 
erty on a true and firm basis. 

Partial Responsibility of a Subordinate. — Those de- 
nominations that reject the parity of the ministry, are 
more or less wedded to forms in their church services, 
though it is difficult to find in the mode of worship in the 
primitive church authority for such forms. There can 
be no parity of the clergy where one minister is a subor- 
dinate to another as his superior — his bishop. That 
bishop is that minister's superior — in a certain sense a 
master — when the Lord Jesus said: "One is your Mas- 
ter, even Christ; ye are brethren," on an equality, before 



THE PARITY OF THE MINISTRY OR CLERGY. 23 

me and among yourselves. Under such circumstances 
there exists on the part of the bishop a sense of authority 
over the rectors of his diocese, while on tlieir part there 
is a sense of inferiority in the presence of their bishop. 
This sentiment must diminish to an equal degree the 
sense of individual responsibility on the part of the sub- 
ordinate rector. Inasmuch as the responsibility that 
should be rendered to the Master himself is diminished 
by the fact that it is given partially to the bishop. From 
the nature of the case it must be so; there is no denying 
the lack of the sense of responsibility, when to do this 
or that the permission must come from a superior, with 
whom the ordinary clergyman does not and cannot feel 
himself recognized in the true sense — a brother in equal 
standing. This feeling springs spontaneously toward one 
of their number, who may be consecrated as bishop. The 
latter is more than primus inter pares, for he never lays 
down his office nor returns to the ranks. On the con- 
trary, among those who hold and practise the parity of 
the ministry, an officer, it may be a moderator of a synod 
or president of a congregational association, as soon as 
his term of office expires he returns to the ranks. Be- 
cause of the confidence that his brethren repose in him 
they make him their honored representative servant, and 
as such they respect the office and its incumbent for the 
time being, giving diligence to conform to the rules that 
he is authorized by his peers to enforce, and no further. 
Ministers or pastors under such conditions realize that 
their responsibility is to the Master supreme, and that 
it is not divided between that Master and a human su- 
perior as a bishop. The sense of this responsibility is a 
stimulant to the performance of duty to the Lord alone. 

The two divine principles the parity of the clergy or 
ministry and the Golden Rule, if recognized and applied 
in the government of the Church, would necessarily free 



24 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

it from the evil of one portion of the ministry domineering 
over another. Under such conditions there would be no 
abuse of the Lord's rule, "ye are brethren," nor ecclesias- 
tical tyranny. 

Apostolic Succession. — The Presbyterian Church de- 
rives the authority for her ministry from the Apostles 
and they direct from the Master himself. This is an 
Apostolic succession, but not a succession of Apostles. 
The latter — to whom Paul was admitted, for did he not 
see the Lord? — had special gifts, and they were also able 
personally to bear witness of His life, His death and res- 
urrection, but these qualifications they could not trans- 
mit to successors. They were authorized by the Head 
of the Church "to ordain elders (presbyters) in every 
church," to perform the sacred duties of teachers and 
rulers, and they in turn to ordain similar officers. This 
was a genuine Apostolic succession, which embraced suc- 
cessive generations of elders or ministers thus set apart 
to the services of the Church of Christ. 

"Presbyterians believe in a succession from the Apos- 
tles ; in a historic episcopate — not diocesan but pastoral — - 
which runs back through a long line of ordained pres- 
byters to the very men whom the Lord Christ 
chose to found and organize His Church." {Presbyte- 
rian Doctrine, by H. Van Dyke, p. 18.) Again: "Pres- 
byterianism recognizes that the pope and the prelates 
are presbyters, but declines to recognize them as of high- 
er order than presbyters. For presbyters are the gen- 
uine bishops of the New Testament, and the true apostolic 
succession is in the presbyters who have been ordained 
by the Apostles and their successors from the foundations 
of the Christian Church until the present time. It has 
the true apostolic succession in striving after the apos- 
tolic faith in its purity, integrity and fulness." {Am. 
Pres., p. 82.) 



THB PARITY OF THE MINISTRY OR CLERGY. 25 

Humanly speaking it would seem strange that the au- 
thority to ordain ministers to the sacred office was left 
by the Divine Master to the contingencies incident to a 
line composed of individual men, rather than to the whole 
body of elders to ordain by "the laying on of the hands of 
the Presbytery" (I. Tim. iv. 14) ; all of whose members 
are equal as brethren, in accordance with the Lord's in- 
structions and admonitions. The former mode may be 
illustrated by a chain made up of a number of individual 
links, if one drops out the chain is worthless; the latter, 
by the cable of a suspension bridge, which is composed of 
numerous strands of wire. In the one case the lost link 
is fatal to the whole system ; in the other the many strands 
preclude such fatality 

The theory of the Apostolic succession, as held in the 
Church of England and by a class in the Episcopal 
Church in the United States, known as High Church, le- 
gitimately leads to the denial of the validity of the ordi- 
nation of the ministry in the other denominations of 
Christians. This is a remarkable phase of ecclesiastical 
and arrogant assumption, especially in the face of the 
fact that these denominations have been marvelously blest 
by the Master in their efforts to bring sinners to repent- 
ance and to the Saviour. 

Suppose it were true "that (church) sacraments are 
valid only when dispensed by episcopally-ordained 
priests ; what should we expect to find ? Why, this : that 
the spiritual life of Christendom should be restricted to 
Episcopal communions, while beyond their pale, in the 
Churches of the Reformation, neither Christian faith nor 
Christian holiness, for the last three hundred years, 
should have been preserved" — a ministry "holding by the 
Divine will a monopoly of grace ought to be the bright 
conspicuous seats (examples) of every virtue and of 
Christlike service for mankind." Why should not such 
4 



26 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

benign influence also reach the private members of such 
church and make them, preeminently, models in their 
self-denial for Christ's sake, and in their utter repudiation 
of the vanities of the fashionable world? (Anglican View 
of the Church, by Dr. J. Oswald Dykes, p. ij.) 

The deliberate opinion of numbers of eminent scholars 
and clergymen of the Church of England on the extreme 
view of the "Apostolic succession," and also as to the 
"post-apostolic origin of the episcopacy," should have 
great weight with every class of intelligent Protestant 
laymen. That eminent historian, Dean Milman, char- 
acterizes the "historic episcopate" as "the fiction of ec- 
clesiastical vanity and baseless." Archbishop Whately, 
Bishop Lightfoot, Dr. Hatch, Canon Farrar, Dean Stan- 
ley "rob the episcopate of its priority," says the last men- 
tioned. "It is sure that nothing like modern episcopacy 
existed before the close of the first century. That which 
was once the Gordian knot of theologians has been un- 
tied, not by the sword of persecution, but by the patient 
unravelment of scholarship." 

Canon Hensley Henson, of Westminster Abbey, on 
the recognition of Christian non-Episcopal denomina- 
tions, says : "The doctrine of the Apostolic succession, 
which is the real barrier to such recognition, crumbles 
at the touch of scholarly investigation; . . . the 
Episcopate is not a primitive system, though it became 
dominant only in the course of two or three centuries. 
. . . The Church [of England] must purge itself of 
this historic absurdity and inherent arrogance of exclu- 
sive claim." Dr. Wordsworth, Bishop of Salisbury, 
says: "That up to the third century after Christ the 
government of the Church in Rome and Alexandria 
was Presbyterian. . . . Episcopacy grew into shape 
naturally out of the circumstances" — that is, in conse- 
quence of the union of Church and State. 



VI. 



The Presbyterians in the Reigns of Elizabeth and 

James. 

The struggles of the Puritans with the Romanizing 
bishops of Elizabeth reign were severe, while often the 
form of persecution was changed. All these outrages of 
the Bishops were connived at by the wordly, politic and 
insincere Queen. Some of these friends of religious lib- 
erty and truth suffered martyrdom; meanwhile great 
numbers of their leaders and pastors were fined, impris- 
oned or driven into exile, because their conscience for- 
bid them to use in their worship the ritual and prayer- 
book enjoined by the prelatical party, as they looked upon 
the latter as containing unscriptural expressions and 
sentiments. The Reformed churches of that day, for the 
greater part, used in their worship a book containing 
prayers, the latter custom having passed over from the 
Romish into the Protestant churches. The Puritans were 
groping their way and learning the truth from year to 
year as they progressed in their study of Holy Scripture. 
They ascertained there were sentiments or doctrines em- 
bodied in these prayers that had no* scriptural authority, 
and therefore they wished the book to be purged of these 
objectionable features. 

The Formation of a Presbytery. — In Elizabeth's reign 
it required great diligence to avoid the spies and inform- 
ers in the interests of the bishops. Toward the end of 
her reign the Presbyterian element among the Puritans 
formed secretly an organization out of which grew a 



28 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

heart-religion of the primitive church. To do which it 
saw no other way than to stamp out the forms of wor- 
ship and, in its opinion, superstitious errors that prevailed. 
It was not satisfied with that gain alone; it wished, as 
far as possible, to assimilate its mode of church govern- 
ment to that which was instituted by the early church and 
adapt it to the exigencies of an age far distant, and under 
far different circumstances. Hence the Puritan would 
strip off all extraneous ceremonies that had been intro- 
duced in the Middle Ages, in order to allure the semi- 
barbarous peoples of those times by means attractive to 
the eye. Its inherent force consisted in an ardent, heart- 
felt, spiritual religion of the primitive type, which recog- 
nized the truths of the Bible as paramount to the teach- 
ings of men. 

Self -Supporting Church — Its Spirituality Enhanced. — 
It seems strange that the Puritans in going back to early 
Christianity — before the year 300 — for their system of 
church government, were unable to realize and act upon 
the historical fact that the church of that period was en- 
tirely unconnected with the secular government of the 
time and was self-supporting. In consequence, it was 
free to preach the gospel without being interfered with by 
a secular authority, which claimed a voice in the manage- 
ment of its spiritual affairs on the plea that it paid the 
salaries of the preachers and also bore other expenses 
Let us be charitable toward these good men, who were 
unable at once to grasp the situation in all its bearings. 
The union of Church and State came down to them — a 
legacy of the ages — since the question or policy of the 
disseverence of the two had not even been suggested. 

As the union of Church and State had been established 
for centuries, the Reformers accepted the arrangement as 
the best for both parties. When they went back to the 
primitive church as their model in doctrine and church 



A PECULIAR PHASE OF REFORM. 29 

government, they all recognized the parity of the minis- 
try, but failed to notice the fact that the primitive church 
was free from state influence — except as an inimical 
force for nearly three hundred years. That the state in- 
stead of fostering Christianity was its persecutor and bit- 
terest foe, and in almost every form opposed the preach- 
ing of the gospel, yet in spite of all this the spirituality of 
the church grew and the number of its members in- 
creased continually, and during those three centuries the 
church was self-supporting. The leading Reformers took 
for granted that the existing relations between the church 
and the state was a proper one; and it appears never to 
have occurred to them that for the church to be freed 
entirely from secular influence might possibly promote 
its spirituality and success They did not raise the ques- 
tion whether it was better for the spirituality of the 
church to be entirely disconnected with the state, and 
thereby avoid the evils incident to its being used for 
selfish purposes by ambitious and unchristian men. They 
never broached the idea of the church going back to the 
primitive mode of being supported by the voluntary con- 
tributions of its own members, rather than for their min- 
isters to draw their salaries from the public treasury. 

The Jus Divinum Doctrine. — On the other hand, the 
question with them, was which denomination had a sys- 
tem of church government that had the divine sanction, 
jus divinum, as they termed it. Such denomination would 
of course be adopted as the State Church. This question 
was agitated more or less in England for about a cen- 
tury; and it remained to be discussed and settled one 
hundred and fifty years afterward in the new world. 
(See p. 22.) 

The prelatical party had the doubtful advantage after 
the time of Henry VIII. of being the State Church, and 
then the Independents under Cromwell, and for a short 



30 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

time the Presbyterians under the supervision of ambitious 
men. The English Parliament in 1645 wished the divines, 
who were then in session framing the Westminster Con- 
fession of Faith, to give their views on the subject of a 
jure divino form of church government. The mere form 
of such government is non-essential in itself, and may be 
also to the progress of the gospel of Christianity. The 
principles are so comprehensive that the form is but a 
convenience to suit the people and the age, but not to 
interfere with the spirituality of the church members 
themselves. 

True Relation of the Church to the State. — It seems 
that only a very limited number of the Puritans doubted 
the expediency of the union of Church and State. The 
exiles, when they returned from the Continent in Eliz- 
abeth's reign, brought with them clearer and more decided 
views on the subject, and which were far in advance of 
those they formerly held. These advanced opinions were 
the outgrowth of their intercourse with the reformers on 
the Continent, especially with John Calvin. To this in- 
fluence may be traced the clear definition of the relation of 
the state or magistrate to the church, which was after- 
ward, and for the first time, put forth distinctly by the 
Westminster Divines (1643-5), nearly all of whom were 
Presbyterians. Therein it was clearly stated that it was 
the duty of the state to protect the church in its rights 
as a religious body, but the church was in no sense to be 
interfered with in its legitimate functions, nor as such 
controlled by the state. The church was not to be put 
under obligations to the secular power, whereby its re- 
ligious influence could be diminished. 



V. 



The Presbyterians and Puritans in Henry VIII.'S 

Reign. 

It is not within the scope of this writing to give an ac- 
count in detail of the many conflicts that occurred be- 
tween the two main religious parties — the prelatical and 
the puritan or presbyterian — during the period com- 
mencing with the reign of Henry VIII. and ending with 
that of Elizabeth — about ninety years. The freedom of 
thought and its free expression, as involved in the theory 
of "Englishmen's Rights," led to an almost continuous 
discussion of theological questions during this period, and 
to a greater number of religious sects in England than in 
any other country of Europe. These discussions cleared 
the theological atmosphere and in the end led to grand 
results in the way of harmony by means of preparing 
summaries of doctrine as exponents of the truths of the 
word of God. These were the harbingers of the formu- 
lating in the next century the Westminster Confession, 
the most elaborate of all, and which has had the greatest 
number of adherents. It seems to have been a century 
in which there was manifested an unusual desire to draw 
up formularies of doctrine. 

Confessions of Faith — Among the Puritans, those who 
held the presbyterial form of church government, were 
strenuous advocates for formulating creeds of systematic 
theology deduced from the truths of the Bible. The Pres- 
byterians of Scotland drew up a Confession (1560) the 
handiwork of John Knox — that man so bold amid eccle- 



32 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

siastical dangers, and withal remarkable for his ability 
and integrity. The Puritan element in the prelatical party 
prepared the XXXIX Articles of that church (1563); 
and the Presbyterians of Ireland, also, drew up a con- 
fession (1615), while among the Reformed on the Con- 
tinent several creeds were formulated. In this turmoil 
of theological discussions the ablest intellects and most 
learned men of the time, clerical and laymen, took part. 

The Two Parties. — There were at this time two dis- 
tinct parties among the Christians of England — the Pre- 
latical or Bishops' party, the latter took their inspiration 
as to church polity from the Church of Rome, while the 
Puritans, which included Presbyterians and Independents 
or Congregationalists, derived theirs from the primitive 
church. The prelatists, sustained by royalty, kept as near 
as possible to the Church of Rome. During these times 
many Puritans suffered martyrdom, especially in Bloody 
Mary's reign, such as the evangelical Bishops Latimer 
and Ridley. Meanwhile great numbers of the Reformers, 
on account of these relentless persecutions, fled to the 
Continent, and did not return until the commencement of 
the reign of Elizabeth. During Bloody Mary's reign of 
five years 280 Puritans and Presbyterians were put to 
death, five of whom were evangelic bishops who were 
burned at the stake. Mary was under the control of Ro- 
man Catholic priests. Such sufferings tried men's souls, 
but during all these years the Puritans in England were 
rising to a higher plane of piety and learning, and to a 
better appreciation of religious liberty. Many of those 
driven into exile went to Geneva and studied in the school 
of John Calvin, in which was moulded a consistent system 
of theology. They returned still better prepared to enter 
into the struggles for the truth. To be sure, during the 
reign of Elizabeth but few comparatively of the Reform- 
ers suffered death, but their ministers were treated out- 



HENRY VIII. 'S REIGN. 33 

rageously; they and their families were often reduced to 
beggary by being deprived of their livings, because they 
conscientiously refused to conform to the Romanizing 
and arbitrary demands of the Queen's bishops ; they were 
thrown into prisons and treated in a manner more harrow- 
ing than death itself. The intelligent laity became more 
and more incensed at the bishops, while the main body of 
the common people began to sympathize with the perse- 
cuted. But when the time of danger came in the form 
of attempts at invasion by the Armada, none were more 
loyal to their Queen and country than these persecuted 
ministers and their people. 

The Heroic Age. — "Puritanism was the great religious 
force of the seventeenth century; the most powerful in- 
fluence in British thought and life since the Reforma- 
tion." In religious affairs "the Puritan era is the heroic 
age of Great Britain and of America. In it were laid the 
foundations for all that is noblest and best in subsequent 
times. * * * This unifying principle has been at 
work as the most potent force in Anglo-Saxon history; 
working through many generations of conflict, chang- 
ing intolerance into toleration." The Puritans empha- 
sized preaching rather than the sacraments and public 
prayer. When the preachers were silenced in the 
churches, pious laymen established lectureships, and the 
work of exposition went on with greater freedom and re- 
doubled energy. * * * By persecution the Puritan* 
were constrained to be great preachers, and they en- 
joyed the gift and learned the art of free prayer. * * * 
The preaching of the gospel and the prayer-meeting have 
been two leading features in all Puritan regions. * * * 
The non-conforming churches of England, the Presbyte- 
rian churches of Scotland, and Puritan churches of Amer- 
ica have maintained their preeminence in this respect. 
The gift of prayer has been bestowed in marvelous rich- 



34 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ness and efficacy upon these churches." (Am. Pres. } pp. 

27 > 39-) 

Harmony of Beliefs. — In that day the study of the Holy 

Scriptures by the English theologians of both parties in- 
duced a similarity of views on the essential doctrines of 
Christianity; such as the inspiration of the Scriptures 
themselves, which being thus accepted as the word of 
God, they in consequence became the rule of Christian 
faith. We have in our own day a parallel case. The fa- 
cilities for the study of the Bible, especially in the tongues 
in which it was originally written, have been wonder- 
fully increased within the last hundred yearsv These 
aids are in the form of elaborately prepared lexicons and 
critical commentaries; the results of the unremitting toil 
of learned and conscientious men; these helps are util- 
ized by students in all the Protestant theological semi- 
naries in the land. It is a remarkable fact, and one that is 
cheering to the heart of the church, that in the evangel- 
ical denominations of to-day, the clergymen and the in- 
telligent laity, who thus study the word of God, are more 
at one in their cordial acceptance of the essential truths 
of Christianity than ever before. 

The XXXIX. Articles. — The Puritan element within 
the prelatical ranks formulated the XXXIX. Articles of 
the Church of England (1563). This compendium of 
scriptural truth has taken its place among the confes- 
sions of the Reformed churches. Article VI. says : "Holy 
Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation, so 
that whatever is not read therein, nor may be proved 
thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should 
not be believed as an article of faith." John Wyclif, a 
hundred years before, had proclaimed that: "The Holy 
Spirit teacheth us the sense of Scripture as Christ opened 
the Scriptures to his Apostles." Thus the position of 
the Bible as the Christian's infallible rule of faith and 



HENRY VIII.'s REIGN. 35 

practice was set forth by the followers of Wyclif, and to 
such an extent that the doctrine was familiar to the lead- 
ing minds among the common people. On the other hand, 
the bishop or prelatical party "rallied around the Book of 
Common Prayer" and demanded uniformity to it, but 
"the Puritans took their stand on the 6th Article of the 
XXXIX., and contended that the Romish and unscrip- 
tural things should be removed from the Prayer Book/' 
There were at this time two classes of bishops, the Ro- 
manizing, who, encouraged by royalty, wished to bring 
the English Church into closer connection with that of 
Rome, and the Puritan or evangelical bishops, who earn- 
estly desired to protect and promote true religion. This 
evangelical spirit cropped out occasionally among the 
clergy of the Church of England during the next one 
hundred and fifty years, and finally burst forth in all its 
splendor in the times of John and Charles Wesley and 
George Whitefield 



IV. 

A Peculiar Phase of Reform. 

The religious movement originating in the Reforma- 
tion under Luther assumed a peculiar phase in England, 
owing to the characteristics of the people themselves. 
This phase was designated Puritanism by its enemies, 
but it soon commanded the latter's respect by the power 
of its intense earnestness in efforts to reform the church 
and to promote a true and inner religious or vital piety in 
the hearts of the people. We of this later age and of 
more knowledge and truer interpretation of the Bible, 
and under the influence of the amenities of a more ad- 
vanced Christianized civilization, may smile at what we 
term the crudities of those days. Notwithstanding all 
that, how grandly those Puritans filled their sphere of 
duty in their day and generation. Their mode of Chris- 
tian action was different from the similar religious move- 
ments on the Continent, because their presentation of 
truth came directly home to a people better trained in 
biblical knowledge and in relation to their civil rights 
than those of the different nations on the Continent. The 
people of the latter that came nearest to the Anglo-Saxons 
in that respect were those who occupied the district of 
Switzerland, of which Geneva was the principal city. 

A Religious Force. — Puritanism as a religious force 
was antagonistic to the numerous evils that were the 
outgrowth of a corrupt form of Christianity ; and it was so 
radical in its principles that it wished to strip the church 
of these excrescences, and go back for a model to the 



REIGNS OF ELIZABETH AND JAMES. 37 

Presbytery, which was constituted in 1572. A book of 
discipline was drawn up, and after much friendly discus- 
sion and revisions, was adopted in 1590. This discipline 
or Confession was subscribed to by about 500 minis- 
ters, residing in different counties in England. To ac- 
complish this much it took nearly twenty years of assid- 
uous care in holding secret meetings. The bishops by 
means of sneaking spies, having learned of the move- 
ment, became greatly alarmed and to suppress such op- 
position to their mandates renewed their persecutions 
more vigorously than ever. 

The Independents Unorganized. — It is to be noted in 
this controversy that the Presbyterian element among the 
Puritans organized presbyteries in opposition to the pre- 
lactical powers. The Congregational or Independent ele- 
ment, as individuals, manifested their opposition to the 
bishops, but they took no measures to organize as 
churches in having a confession of faith to unite them 
as a body in order to 1 wield their power in a concentrated 
form. This was the legitimate result of each church hav- 
ing no organic connection with other churches. The in- 
dependent mode of church government led to the isolation 
of the respective churches and tended to limit their influ- 
ence, because of their being thus restricted. It also had a 
tendency to engender the selfishness of individual 
churches, since they had no special means of becoming 
acquainted with the wants of their brethren, even in the 
churches of their own order, and consequently there was 
a lack of sympathy with one another. At this crisis, there- 
fore, they had no organization to oppose the high-handed 
measures of the bishops, since such organized effort was 
inconsistent with their mode of church government, but 
as individuals they were the equals of their Presbyterian 
brethren in withstanding prelatical assumptions, but their 
concentrated energies was unutilized, because of the isola- 



38 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

tion of each church's membership. In the following cen- 
tury the Independents or Congregationalists, under Oli- 
ver Cromwell, manifested great strength and energy in 
an organization that was of a church militant order. 
That organization was the outcome of the arbitrary and 
indomitable will of Oliver Cromwell. In spite of the 
theories of Independency, he forced the Congregational- 
ists into a compact body — but only to disintegrate as soon 
as the master mind was gone. 

The Primitive Church Self -Supporting. — While these 
troubles were agitating the people of England, similar 
trials were in progress in Scotland,, where the Presbyte- 
rian Church was in connection with the state. That 
form of church government by elders and presbyters had 
been established in Scotland through the efforts of John 
Knox and Andrew Melville, in the reign of Mary Queen 
of Scots. 

The union of church and state in that day was deemed 
essential for the support of the Christian religion. It is 
remarkable that it did not occur to these good men that 
the primitive church held itself aloof from any alliance 
with the Roman government, and was of itself self-sup- 
porting. Though the heathen priesthood and the secu- 
lar authorities of the empire were hostile to the Christian 
religion, yet it so far prevailed in numbers that at the 
end of 300 years the government, as a matter of state 
policy and of its own accord under Constantine, consti- 
tuted it the state religion by a decree, thus repudiating 
heathenism. From that day forward the alliance of the 
church with the secular power has been more or less a 
retarding influence in the progress of a pure and a spir- 
itual life among the church members ; especially may this 
be said of those who were in any way connected with the 
court or under royal influence. 

King James — His Character. — King James VI. of 



THE REIGNS OF ELIZABETH AND JAMES. 39 

Scotland and afterward James I. of England was the son 
of the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots and Henry 
Stuart, Lord Darnley. He began his reign in Scotland in 
1577 and in England in 1603. He had been educated by 
tutors, Presbyterian ministers, who endeavored to train 
him for the office of a king, and to instruct him in rela- 
tion to the prominent question of the time — that of re- 
ligious affairs. These tutors, excellent men and scholars, 
do not seem to have been very successful; he appears to 
have had a fine memory for words alone. Thus he re- 
membered the precise words or terms in which his in- 
structions were given, but was deficient in the power to 
assimilate or make as his own mental furniture the 
ideas they conveyed. Dr. George Buchanan, his prin- 
cipal instructor, when charged with having made him a 
mere pedant, declared "it was the best he could make of 
him." When freed from his tutors and made king, he 
took up the role of an incessant talker on all occasions; 
but of mere verbiage, and that uttered indistinctly. His 
tutors had labored to repress his unbounded conceit, re- 
buking him sternly rather than flattering his vanity, but 
now he was unrestrained. 

He was a most devout believer in the divine right of 
kings, and appeared to have a notion that as a king he 
himself could never make a mistake. He thought a king 
had a divine right to make or unmake laws at his own 
pleasure, and was bound by no obligation in such mat- 
ters — it would seem in his case not even to keep his own 
word. When in Scotland at one time he professed to 
have a profound belief in the Presbyterian mode of church 
government and form of worship, and even went so far as 
to ridicule the mode of worship of the Church of England, 
which as an imitation of that of Rome he characterized as 
"an evil said mass." 

James and the General Assembly. — James had difficulty 



40 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

with the Presbyterian General Assembly of Scotland, 
which was established December 20, 1560, seventeen 
years before he became king. Episcopacy, at the time, 
was the state religion, but under the influence of John 
Knox the ration superseded it by Presbyterianism. In 
1578 the revised or Second Book of Discipline became the 
authorized standard or Confession of Faith of the Church 
of Scotland. Immediately after James began to lay plans 
to reinstate Episcopacy. During this struggle numerous 
Presbyterian ministers and prominent laymen were driven 
into exile, and as usual the greater part went to Geneva. 
Finally in 1584 James and his nobles arbitrarily restored 
Episcopacy, and a servile parliament sanctioned the ille- 
gal act of placing the government of the church in the 
hands of the king. The following year the exiles returned 
and were more determined than ever to maintain their 
civil and religious rights, and the whole nation was soon 
on the verge of rebellion. James was compelled to yield 
to a compromise, by which a modified Episcopacy was in- 
troduced (1586), by which bishops were "to be held re- 
sponsible to the General Assembly, and to act according to 
the advice of the synods and presbyteries" — the ap- 
pointees of James were bishops only in name. Thus the 
project failed in an inglorious manner. 

The Influence of the Bishops. — As soon as James be- 
came King of England he fell under the influence of the 
bishops, who had carried religious matters with a high 
hand in Elizabeth's reign. They immediately detected 
his weak points, and flattered him in the most fulsome 
manner. He abominated the freedom of thought and 
speech and zeal for religious liberty that characterized 
the leaders in the Scotch Presbyterian Church. He was 
not learned and wise, but shrewd as that class of mind — 
a sort of semi-lunatic — usually is. He saw that the gov- 
ernment of the Presbyterian Church, in which the pri- 






THE REIGNS OF ELIZABETH AND JAMES. 4 1 

vate members had a voice through their best men, the 
elders, who were chosen as their representatives, was 
not consistent with his divine right as head of the church 
and King of England. As an indication of his policy he 
announced his famous axiom: "No Bishop, no King," 
by which he meant that the bishops would sustain him 
in his plans to suppress religious freedom. On that prin- 
ciple or basis he henceforth acted as king and head of 
the established church. 

Hopes Disappointed. — When James was about to be- 
come King of England the English Puritans expected 
that, under the circumstances, he being a professed Pres- 
byterian, they would be relieved of the annoyances to 
which they had been subjected in the reign of Elizabeth. 
They were, however, doomed to be sorely disappointed. 
The king put himself under influences that were hostile 
to true religious liberty. As James claimed the divine 
right for kings, so his leading bishop, Bancroft, claimed 
the divine right for prelacy. The latter charged the 
Presbyterians of Scotland with following the doctrines 
taught at Geneva, and at the same time he denounced the 
English Puritans as being influenced by the Scotch Pres- 
byterians. We have just seen that the attempts of James 
and his bishops to establish Episcopacy in Scotland had 
failed, and in that controversy Presbyterianism had tri- 
umphed. This was eleven years before James became 
King of England. He was deeply mortified and greedy 
for revenge because of this, his defeat. 

Notwithstanding these incidents, in order to avert evil, 
the English Puritans presented to James, when on his 
way from Scotland to ascend the throne of England, a pe- 
tition expressing loyalty and asking for relief. This peti- 
tion was scarcely noticed, though it was signed by nearly 
one thousand names of ministers and prominent gentle- 
men. The following year (1604) a conference was sum- 
5 



42 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

moned and held at Hampton Court. The debate was be- 
tween the bishops and the Puritans. James himself pre- 
siding. Dr. Reynolds, professor in Cambridge, spoke in 
behalf of the Puritans, and Bishop Bancroft on that of the 
prelates. The king kept joining in with his usual volu- 
bility. The Puritans were dismissed contemptuously and 
found their interests in a worse condition than they were 
even under the reign of Elizabeth. 

Soon afterward the leading Scotch Presbyterian min- 
isters were invited to London to hold a similar confer- 
ence. They too were insulted and, in modern phrase, 
bulldozed by the king and his bishops. James went even 
so far as to treacherously imprison some of the men whom 
he had invited to a friendly conference. He seemed to 
delight in every opportunity to show his ill-feeling to- 
ward his own countrymen, especially those who were in 
favor of free discussion and religious liberty. Numbers 
of the Scottish Presbyterian ministers as well as of the 
English Puritans fled the country. 

Migrations to Ireland. — Great numbers of the perse- 
cuted ministers and their people migrated from England 
and also from Scotland to Ireland, where they were pro- 
tected by the evangelical bishops of that island. These 
immigrants aided in strengthening the Irish Presbyterian 
Church. The Scotch settled principally in Ulster and the 
English in Dublin and vicinity. Great numbers of the 
descendants of these Presbyterians afterward migrated to 
the American colonies. 

James in 1584 attempted, as we have seen, to supersede 
Presbyterianism in Scotland by establishing Episcopacy 
but failed, and again in 1592, but without success, as the 
Presbyterian Church was then put on a national basis 
but liable to be disturbed at any time by the kings of Eng- 
land under the influence of the bishops. Thus his son, 
Charles L, about fifty years afterward (1640) made a 



THE REIGNS OF ELIZABETH AND JAMES. 43 

similar attempt with like success. This uncertain state of 
affairs in Scotland remained for about sixty years longer, 
when in 1707 by treaty Scotland and England formed a 
union, and the Presbyterian became the State Church of 
Scotland and the Episcopal that of England. 

The Culdee Church. — It is here not out of place in this 
history to compare the claims to antiquity of the Church 
of Scotland as such with those of the Church of England. 
The little island of Iona — containing only about four 
square miles of territory — lies off Mull on the west coast of 
Scotland. Though so insignificant in size, it ought to have 
a peculiar interest for American Presbyterians, because 
through the Church of Scotland they can trace their line 
of ecclesiastical ancestry back to the "ancient Church of 
the Culdees," which was founded on this island very 
near Apostolic times. This church was Apostolic in doc- 
trine, presbyterial in polity, while it repudiated the celi- 
bacy of the clergy. It maintained some of the usages of 
the Greek or Oriental church and "coequality," that is, 
the parity of the ministry, and was governed by presby- 
ters. Numerous historical arguments are adduced to 
prove that the Culdee Church was the outgrowth of the 
labors of exiles driven by persecution from the Church 
of Galatia in Asia Minor, to which the Apostle Paul ad- 
dressed an epistle. The Galatians were of Celtic origin, 
as were the Scots. Tertullian, who lived in the second 
century A. D., asserts that "Those parts of Britain that 
were inaccessible to the Romans" (i. e., Scotland) "had 
become subject to Christ." In those early times the Phoe- 
nicians came to Cornwall in Wales to trade for tin. Why 
could not the persecuted Christians of Galatia come with 
them to the Scottish Isles and bring the gospel to their 
kindred, the Celts of Scotland, of Wales and of Ireland? 

The greatest interest, however, centers in the college 
established on Iona by that sainted man, Columba, in 



44 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

A. D. 564, which under his successors was for centuries 
a training school or theological seminary for Christian 
missionaries to the heathen round about. It was not a 
monastery. Columba was a Celt and a native of Ireland, 
of royal lineage, that of the Kings of Ulster. He and 
his assistants, twelve in number, were imbued with the 
gospel of Christ, as was the Culdee Church. "Laborious 
researches of German scholars show that this Scottish 
church did more to carry a pure gospel to all the parts of 
Great Britain, France, Germany and Switzerland during 
the sixth, seventh and eighth centuries than all Christen- 
dom besides, and with this gospel to diffuse letters and 
science, industry and civilization." This was accom- 
plished by sending forth from Iona century after century 
Christian men well trained for the work. • These mission- 
aries were called Culdees — a name whose origin is un- 
known. 

In A. D. 607 Augustine, a monk, came from Rome to 
convert the Saxons, who had succeeded the Romans in 
the control of England. Long afterward Pope Gregory 
the Great made a similar but more successful attempt. 
These Romanists resorted to their usual tactics, and from 
the twelfth and thirteenth century onward, for four hun- 
dred years, popery labored to crush out the Scottish or 
Culdee Church, but never fully succeeded because wit- 
nesses for the truth never failed in that church. When 
the Reformation under Luther came in 15 17 the faithful 
descendants of the "ancient Culdee Church" were pre- 
pared to be with it in sympathy. "The Reformation 
Church of Scotland was, therefore, simply a reappear- 
ance of the old primeval church." Thus we see how the 
Scottish Church was linked with the Apostolic, and we can 
trace, also, the links that connected the Church of Eng- 
land with that of Rome. The respective influence of these 



THE REIGNS OF ELIZABETH AND JAMES. 45 

two origins can be distinctly recognized to-day. (The 
Culdee Church, by Dr. T. V. Moore.) 

The Translations of the Bible. — The most efficient in- 
fluence exerted over the English mind during the times 
of these religious troubles was undoubtedly the trans- 
lation of the Bible into their own tongue. It had a great 
effect in preparing the way for the acceptance of the 
gospel by the common people. There were made several 
consecutive versions of the Bible, all, however, based on 
William Tyndale's translation, who in consequence of 
making known to his countrymen the word of God in 
their own tongue, suffered martyrdom. 

One version was made (1539-41) in the reign of Henry 
VIII. ; then another known as the Genevan, because made 
in that city, in 1560; which was followed by a version 
known as the Bishop's Bible, 1568, and 1572, in Eliza- 
beth's reign, and finally King James's Bible, published in 
161 1. Thus we see that for nearly three-fourths of a 
century the preparation of these various versions of the 
Holy Scriptures occupied the attention of the learned men 
among the Puritans and the evangelical prelatists. This 
agitation on the subject attracted attention to the im- 
portance of the Holy Scriptures, and had an immense in- 
fluence on the minds of the common people in leading 
them to read and study the word of God to a much greater 
extent than among any other people of Europe. 

Another element was quietly at work during these 
troublous times of discussion and persecution, and that 
was the devoted attention which these learned men, though 
differing so much on other questions, gave to the Holy 
Scriptures by studying them in the originals — Hebrew 
and Greek — and from time to time preparing revised or 
better translations. 



VII. 

SABBATH DESECRATION — SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT. 

James I. issued a programme of amusements for the 
Sabbath day, known as the 'Book of Sports" (1618). 
According to his direction, it was drawn up by Bishop 
Moreton. It gave permission for the violation of the 
afternoon of the Sabbath day, after the morning ser- 
vices in the church ; its open avowal being " to encour- 
age recreations and sports on the Lord's day." Such 
mode of spending the Sabbath was customary among 
the Roman Catholic churches on the Continent, as it is 
for the most part to-day. The object of James was 
evidently to annoy the Puritans, as he well knew they 
kept and deemed all hours of the day equally sacred ; 
perhaps his ulterior motive was to find an accusation 
against them. 

Book of Sports. — The " Book of Sports " was directed 
to be read at the morning service in all the parish 
churches throughout England, but the evangelical 
Archbishop Abbot interfered so strenuously that it 
was read only to a very limited extent. The order 
therefore remained virtually obsolete for fifteen years, 
till 1633, when Charles I., at the instigation of Arch- 
bishop Laud, revived the " Book of Sports " and ordered 
it to be read and obeyed. The Romanizing bishops 
were in favor of the Sabbath being desecrated, while 
the evangelicals exerted their influence in favor of pre- 
serving its sanctity. The Puritan pastors, rather than 
violate God's law by reading the order, gave up their 



SABBATH DESECRATION. 47 

livings in great numbers, and were turned upon the 
world, many of them penniless. 

This conscientious and strenuous struggle of the 
Puritans — Presbyterians and Independents — to pre- 
serve the sanctity of the Sabbath has been fraught 
with untold blessings to the English-speaking people 
the world over, and nowhere greater than in the United 
States. The Puritans may appear in this age to have 
carried their views of the sanctity of the day to an 
unnecessary extent, yet that sternness of purpose 
produced a blessing which they never could have be- 
queathed if they themselves had been less strict in its 
observance. Their intense desire to preserve the Sab- 
bath in its integrity led them toward a closer adherence 
to the Old Testament than to the New. For illustra- 
tion, they were accustomed to commence the Sabbath 
on Saturday evening at sunset. This custom had an 
unhappy influence; since the Sabbath also ended at 
sunset, its evening was often spent in a manner calcu- 
lated to fritter away the good impressions that may 
have been received in the house of worship during the 
day. 

Influence of the Sabbath. — The keeping holy this 
blessed day has been an all-important agent in preserv- 
ing the knowledge of God and His worship fresh among 
the people. How different would have been the re- 
ligious influences abroad on the Continent of Europe 
since the Reformation if the reformers, such as Luther, 
Melanchthon, Zwingli, and even John Calvin, and their 
various co-workers, had been as strenuous in the de- 
fence of the sacredness of the Lord's day as was John 
Knox in Scotland! Under such circumstances, there 
would not be in existence what is now known as the 
Continental Sabbath, whose blighting influence is felt in 
the United States, even among the multitudes of those 
brought up in Christian families and who travel abroad, 



48 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

especially on the Continent, and who often return home 
imbued with a spirit indifferent if not absolutely antag- 
onistic to the proper reverence for the sacredness of 
the fourth commandment. The observance of the 
Sabbath held the Jewish people fast to Jehovah, the 
living God, and which observance appeals the more 
earnestly to Christians, since it is the weekly reminder 
of the resurrection of the Blessed Saviour. 

If a proper Christian observance of the sacredness of 
the Sabbath had prevailed in France from the times 
of Calvin and of Beza forward, could that nation have 
degenerated into infidelity? Could the terrible scenes 
of the Revolution of 1789 been enacted in its moral 
and bloody aspects ? If the Sabbath had been observed 
by the reformers on the Continent as strictly as it was 
in Scotland or even in England, Romanism could not 
have regained so much of the influence which it had 
lost because of the Reformation. Neither could the 
priesthood have virtually deprived the people at large 
of the Bible. A people thoroughly trained to reverence 
and to keep that sacred day could never have been se- 
duced again into Romanism, nor to permit saints' days 
to usurp its place and sacredness. 

The Sabbath on the Continent. — The question has 
often been raised, Why did not the Reformers on the 
Continent have as clear and distinct views of the 
sacredness of the Sabbath as had Knox and his co- 
workers ? The answer has usually been, that they were 
so accustomed to the number of saints' days in the 
Roman calendar, and in comparison with which days, 
especially those devoted to the Virgin Mary, the Lord's 
day was deemed less sacred. Again, the continental 
reformers were at the first absorbed in lines of contro- 
versy that did not especially involve the observance of 
the Sabbath. These reformers failed to insist on the 
practice of spiritual religion with the earnestness of the 




Rev. Samuel Davies, D. D. 
(130, 140, 141, 168, 171.) 



SABBATH DESECRATION. 49 

Puritans; hence the proper observance of the Sabbath 
as sacred time did not appear to them so essential. 
This lack of appreciation of the Lord's day has been a 
great hindrance to the advancement of spiritual religion 
among the common people on the Continent. 

Saints' days, on the other hand, never held so much 
sway in the established church in the British Isles as 
they did on the Continent, because the mass of the peo- 
ple were better informed in respect to Bible truths, as 
we have already noted in this narrative. The conti- 
nental reformers, therefore, had not as good mate- 
rial to act upon as had the English and Scotch divines. 
The English people, because of their knowledge of the 
Bible, were too well informed as to the sacredness of 
the fourth commandment to permit any saints' days 
to supersede its importance. That commandment re- 
quired the holy rest of one day in seven, as well as the 
appropriate duties pertaining to six days of labor. On 
the contrary, the saints' days in Italy, for instance, 
sometimes demanded one or two holidays a week, thus 
diminishing the material progress of the people. 

The Solemn League and Covenant. — In our day of re- 
ligious liberty and civil freedom we can scarcely appre- 
ciate the intense interest that the English people them- 
selves had in their church affairs. In this respect they 
were in contrast with the Protestant nations on the 
Continent ; the latter being hitherto under the heel of 
the ecclesiastical despotism of the Roman hierarchy, 
which crushed the earliest aspirations of religious lib- 
erty, and therefore they could not attain that intelligent 
view of the rights of conscience which the English and 
Scotch people had been acquiring for a century or more. 

As a defensive measure and to secure unity among 
themselves the Scotch entered into a compact known as 
the " Solemn League and Covenant " (1638). This has 
been characterized as " an act of consecration on the 



50 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

part of the Scottish people, which as to Its essence is 
one of the noblest transactions of modern times." It 
was signed by the people with remarkable enthusiasm ; 
with uplifted hands they took an oath to maintain its 
principles. In England Charles I. under oath signed 
the league and covenant in order to conciliate the 
people ; but he evidently had no intention to keep his 
oath. 

This document embodied as its main features : " The 
preservation of the Reformed religion in the Church of 
Scotland, in doctrine, worship, discipline, and govern- 
ment according to the word of God and the example of 
the best Reformed churches. . . . That we shall en- 
deavor to bring the churches of God in these three 
kingdoms to the nearest conjunction and uniformity 
in religion, confession of faith, form of church govern- 
ment, directory for worship, and catechism." 

To sustain these prominent measures the members 
of the House of Commons and the members of the 
Westminster Assembly likewise took an oath with up- 
lifted hands in the presence of one another and afterward 
they individually signed the document. They also vowed 
"to extirpate popery, prelacy, superstition, heresy and 
schism, profaneness and whatsoever shall be found to be 
contrary to sound doctrine and the power of godliness" 

(1643). 
Why Were the Prelates Feared? — It may seem strange 

that those who had been the victims of persecution so 
often and in so many forms — from the prison and the 
stake to being deprived of livings or driven into exile — 
should express in such strong terms their desire to "ex- 
tirpate popery and prelacy." They simply acted in self- 
defense. Let it be remembered that both these ecclesias- 
tical parties — Roman Catholic priests and Romanizing 
prelates — when connected with the government, persist- 



SABBATH DESECRATION. SI 

ently stimulated the latter to persecute those who wished 
to worship God in their own way, according to their own 
conscience. These signers of the League and Covenant 
intended nothing more by this strong language than by 
political means — not persecution — to prevent Romanism 
ruling in the councils of the nation and in the church, and 
also for the same reason free themselves from the under- 
hand rule of the bishops of the Church of England, who 
were or might be in the same relation to the government. 
The Presbyterians and the Independents recognized the 
parity of the ministry, and in consequence among them the 
tendency was to treat one another as brethren and equal 
in their calling, while opinions held in respect to non- 
essentials were not a bar to fraternal intercourse. Neither 
was it on account of church government, because for the 
sake of peace and conciliation the Scotch and also the 
English Presbyterians had consented to a mixed sort of 
government or compromise in which bishops were rec- 
ognized, but in Scotland they were held responsible to 
the General Assembly, while in England the bishops, if 
responsible to any authority, they were to the king, the 
assumed head of the church since the time of Henry VIII. 

The opposition was to that class of bishops such as 
Laud and several others, known as Romanizers, who la- 
bored secretly and often treacherously during the reigns 
of the Stuarts to bring the English Church and people 
under the sway of the Roman hierarchy. This class of 
bishops persecuted with zeal and apparent delight, while 
the evangelical bishops, such as Archbishop Ussher and 
Abbot, and many others, were accustomed to protect 
those who for conscience' sake could not conform, and 
they labored also in behalf of the freedom of conscience. 

For threatening the "extirpation" of popery and prel- 
acy the bishops had their revenge — though petty. It 
seems that at their instigation the first Parliament under 



52 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Charles II. ordered the Solemn League and Covenant 
to be burned by the common hangman in the streets of 
London (May 22, 1661). 

The Effect of Trials and Persecutions. — In this con- 
cise narrative we have seen the influence that during so 
many generations trained the Presbyterian leaders and 
they in turn the people, so that in the refining process in- 
duced by trials and persecutions Presbyterianism became 
"a religious system which is animate with the influences 
of the Holy Spirit. Christ is present in it as its enthroned 
S Sovereign and Saviour. It is a real Christianity which 
rejects everything that is not a product of the Christianity 
I of Jesus Christ. * * * This principle recognizes the 
supremacy of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures, but de- 
clines to imprison His divine energy in its external form 
and letter. Presbyterianism did not reject the authority 
of the papal church and that of the prelatical church in 
order to establish the authority of a Presbyterian Church. 
It made supreme the living word of the living God; it 
bound itself to the Holy Spirit, who uses the word of 
God as a means of grace. It recognizes the enthroned 
Christ as the source of Christianity to every age. The 
word of God is the 'scepter of His Kingdom,' and divinely 
called presbyters are his officers, commissioned to gov- 
ern the church with his authority and in his fear. * * * 
It has the true Apostolic succession in striving after the 
Apostolic faith in its purity, integrity and fulness. 

"Presbyterianism belongs to the modern age of the 
world, to the British type of Protestantism; but it is not 
a departure from the Christianity of the ancient and me- 
dieval church. It makes steady progress toward the 
realization of the ideal of Christianity in the golden age 
— of the Messiah. (Am. Pres., pp. 5, 8, II, condensed.) 

Presbyterian Household Training. — We hope this con- 
cise sketch of the training of the members of the Presby- 



SABBATH DESECRATION. 5 3 

terian Church — ministers as well as the laity — in the 
school of adversity where self-reliance was practically 
taught, will enable the reader to appreciate more fully the 
character of the first Presbyterian preachers to this coun- 
try. The systematic instruction both in religious and sec- 
ular affairs, given in the families of the Puritans or Pres- 
byterians, had great influence for good. In proportion 
as the parents were intelligent they desired a still better 
education for their children than they themselves had en- 
joyed in their youth. Thus this God-implanted principle 
in the hearts of parents secured for each succeeding gen- 
eration of the family a better education than that of the 
former. This influence has passed on and is felt in Pres- 
byterian families more to-day than ever before. The pri- 
vate members of the church were thus, for the most part, 
trained in the knowledge of the Scriptures, while after its 
formulation, as an aid to that study, was used the West- 
minster Confession of Faith. This was a concise com- 
pendium of the doctrines which the ministers and elders 
and other intelligent laymen, members of that famous as- 
sembly, believed to be contained in the word of God. In 
addition for the benefit of youth the Larger and Shorter 
Catechism were prepared and made as familiar as house- 
hold words to the Presbyterian youth of both sexes. 

Such were the characteristics of the first Presbyterian' 
ministers that came as preachers to the colonies, out of 
which grew the United States, and such was the knowl- 
edge of sacred things that pervaded the Congregational 
and Presbyterian households which emigrated thither 
from the three kingdoms. After they had settled in this 
new land they did not neglect the religious instruction of 
their children, but brought them up in an intelligent fear 
of the Lord, by means of teaching them not merely to 
read and study the word of God, but likewise to commit 
to memory, and that understanding^, the catechisms of 



54 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the church. The sublime doctrines of Christianity were 
thus stored in the minds of their children to be brought 
forth and applied as occasion required when manhood 
and womanhood were attained. 



VIII. 

The Westminster Confession — Events Connected 

Therewith. 

As the church was in connection with the government 
it was conceded that parliament had a right to interfere 
in its affairs. It is well to bear in mind that in those days 
the questions, which for the greater part absorbed the 
attention of parliament, were those pertaining to religious 
matters, as they had an influence upon the succession to 
the crown, while the intermeddling with the rights of 
conscience had been for several generations a prolific 
source of annoyance and evil to the people at large. The 
members of the parliaments of that period, as a general 
rule, were well acquainted with these religious questions, 
and often because of such qualifications were they chosen. 
As already noted, there were in existence at this time, 
besides minor ones, no less than three prominent Confes- 
sions — that of the Presbyterians of Scotland (1560) ; the 
XXXIX. Articles of the English Church (1563), and that 
of the Irish Presbyterian Church (1615). The English 
Presbyterians, as yet, had not framed a Confession. A 
sentiment pervaded the minds of the Reformed ministers 
of the British Isles and of the intelligent laymen of all 
religious parties — except the Romanizing bishops — that 
there should be formulated a Confession of Faith for the 
whole kingdom. 

The Ordinance of Parliament. — Meanwhile, the pre- 
latical party, encouraged by the King, Charles I., was con- 
tinually making encroachments upon the religious rights 



56 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

of the Puritans — the Presbyterians and Independents. To 
remedy these evils and also to unite all the people in favor 
of a single Confession of Faith, the latter desired to have 
summoned "an assembly of divines and learned laymen 
under the protection of parliament, who should be free 
in its action from the domination of the prelates." At 
this time parliament was antagonistic to the king because 
of his Romanizing policy in respect to the Church of Eng- 
land. A "Grand Remonstrance," drawn up and numer- 
ously signed, was presented to the king (1641) in which 
it was proposed for him to summon such an assembly. 
Charles refused to sanction a call for such purpose, and 
afterward (July 1, 1643) issued a proclamation forbid- 
ding the meeting of the assembly, which in spite of his op- 
position had in the meantime been summoned by parlia- 
ment. Parliament of its own motion issued an ordi- 
nance (1643) f° r a certain number of learned and godly 
divines to be selected from the religious parties of Eng- 
land, who should take in hand to formulate such a creed 
or confession. The commissioners to which assembly 
"were to confer and treat among themselves of matters 
concerning the liturgy, discipline and government of the 
Church of England * * * clearing the doctrine of 
the same from all false aspersions and misconstructions 
* * * touching the matters aforesaid as shall be most 
agreeable to the word of God." The assembly was en- 
joined to report progress regularly to parliament. 

The Westminster Assembly. — In accordance with this 
ordinance the famous assembly met at Westminster in 
King Henry VII. chapel, July 1, 1643. During a labor 
continuing for about three years they formulated the well- 
known Westminster Confession of Faith. This included 
the Catechisms, larger and shorter, a selection of Scrip- 
ture proof-texts, and in addition a Directory of Public 
Worship. Its special merits have made this confession 



THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION. 57 

in all respects the most complete work of the kind ever 
produced. That it has been thus recognized we infer from 
the length of time, more than two hundred and fifty years, 
that it has been an authority in the Calvinistic churches 
of the English Protestant world and the vast numbers of 
others who have also accepted its interpretation of the 
word of God. No human work is perfect, but this in its 
sphere would seem as nearly perfect as men at that time 
could make it. 

The Directory of Public Worship. — The Directory of 
Public Worship engaged the attention of the assembly 
nearly six months. When finished it was sent to parlia- 
ment; that body having approved the work, it was or- 
dered to be observed in the churches (1645). This di- 
rectory in its spirit was consistent with the principle of 
toleration in non-essentials as held by the Presbyterian 
portion of the Puritans, and therefore it left as optional 
with the churches and ministers whether in public wor- 
ship they should use written or unwritten prayers. 
Neither did the f ramers intend to impose that special form 
of worship upon the churches. 

The Members of the Assembly. — The Westminster As- 
sembly was composed of 121 divines, whom the parlia- 
ment had carefully selected as representatives from all 
the counties of England and Wales, and also from the 
Universities of Cambridge and Oxford. There were only 
ten or twelve Independents or Congregationalists in the 
assembly. This fact may have been owing to their sys- 
tem of church government, in which each church was 
accustomed to frame or not its individual confession. 
Irish Presbyterians were also represented, and so were 
the evangelical bishops of the Church of England and in 
Ireland. Ten nobles represented the House of Lords and 
twenty of their ablest men from the House of Commons 
— thus recognizing the rights of Christian laymen to take 
6 



58 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

part in the affairs of the church. The great majority, 
however, were Presbyterians, the number of which was 
increased by commissioners from the Scotch Church, who 
were invited to join in formulating a creed or Confession 
of Faith for the whole kingdom. 

The commissioners from the Scotch Church reported 
from time to time to their General Assembly the proceed- 
ings of that of the divines at Westminster, and finally laid 
before the former the completed Confession of Faith and 
the catechisms, including also the Directory for Worship. 
After discussion the General Assembly of the Scotch 
Church, instead of its own, substituted in all its parts the 
Confession of Faith formulated by the Westminster di- 
vines (1647). Says Hetherington (Hist, of the Scotch 
Church, p. 193) : "This, therefore, may be regarded as 
the assembly by which was completed the second Reform- 
ation of the Scottish Church, and the full arrangement of 
its confession and form of worship and discipline." 

The Character of the Assembly and Its Work. — This 
was a remarkable company of divines : "Such a band of 
preaching and praying ministers as gathered in the West- 
minster Assembly the world had never seen before. * * * 
The main portion of the members was selected, in the 
nature of the case, from the great body of the ordained 
ministers of the Church of England, who had long been 
Puritans and Presbyterians. Never since has England 
been in the position to secure such another full represen- 
tation of her Protestantism as the Westminster Assembly 
afforded. The three great parties which now divide Brit- 
ish Protestantism were adequately represented among the 
learned divines named in the ordinance." (Am. Pres., 
p. 62.) "The Westminster standards are, historically 
speaking, the final crystallization of the elements of evan- 
gelical religion after the conflicts of sixteen hundred 
years; scientifically speaking, they are the richest and 



THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION. 59 

most precise and best guarded statement ever penned of 
all that enters into evangelical religion, and of all that 
must be safely guarded if evangelical religion is to per- 
sist in the world; and, religiously speaking, they are a 
notable monument of spiritual religion." (Prof. Benj. 
B. Wartield.) 

Civil Commotions. — While the Westminster Assembly 
was in session England, Scotland and Ireland were dis- 
turbed by civil commotions, which resulted in battles be- 
tween the armies of the opposing parties. These con- 
flicts, occurring principally in England, were owing to the 
opposition of the English people to the tyrannical acts 
of Charles I. He quarreled with three successive parlia- 
ments from 1625 to 1629; by royal prerogative he in an 
arbitrary manner dissolved them in turn, because they 
insisted on redressing the existing civil and ecclesias- 
tical wrongs. For eleven years he ruled in church and 
state after the manner of an oriental despot ; that is, with- 
out a parliament or reference to the will of the people. 
The members of these parliaments for the most part were 
presbyterian in their religious views, and were identi- 
fied with the policy of constitutional government and civil 
liberty. In 1640 a parliament was elected, but it refused 
to be dissolved by the mandate of the king or to adjourn; 
hence it is known as the Long Parliament, as it lasted for 
about twelve years. One of its first acts was to pass a 
resolution to the effect that it should not be dissolved 
except with its own consent. This parliament boldly ad- 
vocated, the civil and religious rights of the people, the 
latter meanwhile becoming more and more in sympathy 
with its proceedings. They were in process of training 
for ere long making an end of royal tyranny and prelacy, 
which were linked together by the king and his Arch- 
bishop Laud. 

The Question of Apostolic Succession. — Two subjects 



60 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

during this period agitated the minds of the religious par- 
ties in England — that of the Apostolic succession or the 
"regular and uninterrupted transmission of ministerial 
authority from the Apostles," and the Divine authority for 
a form of church government. 
^ The Presbyterians claim that "the presbyters are the 

genuine bishops of the New Testament, and the true 
Apostolic succession is in the presbyters, who have been 
ordained by the Apostles and their successors from the 
foundations of the Christian Church until the present 
time." This mode of Apostolic succession would of itself 
seem more rational than to limit it to a single line of in- 
dividual bishops. The latter would be more liable to be 
broken by some one dropping out than in the lines of 
numerous individuals as ministers or presbyters. The 
instances recorded in the primitive church wherein per- 
sons were ordained or set apart to the ministry, the cere- 
_^^ mony used was that of the laying on of the hands of the 
presbytery collectively and not by a single bishop, elder 
or presbyter. (See I. Tim. iv, and Acts vi. 6; also 

A xiii - 3-) 

These officers of the primitive church may be included 

in three classes, namely : pastors or teachers, elders and 
deacons. The pastors and teachers engage in the preach- 
ing of the word and in the administration of the sacra- 
ments ; the pastors and the ruling elders, when combined, 
have judicial power; while the care of the poor belongs to 
the deacons. (Acts Chap, vi.) Presbyterianism claims 
that there is no higher order of church officer found in the 
New Testament than that of teacher or presbyter, as the 
Greek word translated bishop, in every instance, is used 
v synonymously with presbyter or elder. They claim thus 
to follow as nearly as possible the method of government 
used in the primitive church, and also that "their minis- 
try is descended from Christ through the Apostate 



THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION. 6 1 

Church of Rome, but not from the Apostate Church of 
Rome." This is on the principle that "the power of God's 
ordinance depends not on the person that does execute the 
same, but upon a higher foundation (authority), the insti- 
tution of Christ." "Ministerial acts are not vitiated nor 
made null, though they pass through the hands of bad 
men, but stand good to all intents and purposes to such as 
receive them aright, by virtue of their office authorita- 
tively derived from the first institution. * * * Our 
ministry is derived to us from Christ and his Apostles 
by succession of a ministry continued in the church. We 
have a lineal succession from Christ and his Apostles ; not 
only a lineal succession, but that which is more and with- 
out which the lineal is of no benefit, we have a doctrinal 
succession also." {Divine Right of the Gospel-Ministry, 
1654, as quoted in Amer. Pres., pp. 2, j.) 

Cromwell's Doings. — The Presbyterians were in favor 
of a constitutional government, through which they hoped 
the people would secure all their rights, civil and religious. 
The Independents, who during these commotions had rap- 
idly increased in numbers, were extremely radical in their 
views, both as to the civil government and the prelacy. 
These characteristics at once attracted multitudes who had 
been previously neutral or indifferent. Oliver Cromwell 
was at their head. In 1643 he took command of the army ; 
his marvelous influence inspired his soldiers with re- 
ligious enthusiasm, though he did not neglect to make 
them perfect in military drill. After a series of victo- 
ries in the course of four years Charles fell into Crom- 
well's hands (Nov. 30, 1648). 

The first of Cromwell's measures when he assumed au- 
thority was to have expelled from the House of Com- 
mons of the Long Parliament the 140 Presbyterian mem- 
bers (Dec. 6, 1648) ; the remaining members, being Inde- 
pendents, began to legislate for themselves. This rem- 



62 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

nant is known in history as the "Rump Parliament/' 
They at once abolished the House of Lords, then resolved 
to try Charles for his life (Jan. i, 1649), an< ^ ^ or tnat P ur ~ 
pose named 150 commissioners. On the 20th of the same 
month the king was brought before this extemporized 
court. Charles refused to plead, on the ground that the 
court was illegally constituted; nevertheless he was 
promptly condemned, and on the 30th of the same month 
beheaded. Against these high-handed and illegal pro- 
ceedings the Presbyterians protested, not that they were 
or could be in sympathy with Charles and Archbishop 
Laud in their tyrannies and intolerance, but that it was 
without sanction of law, while to go to such extremes they 
deemed unnecessary under the circumstances and most 
unjustifiable. 

The New Parliament. — When the Restoration of 
Charles II. took place, February, 1660, the Presbyterian 
members of the Long Parliament, who had been illegally 
expelled by Cromwell, reassembled as a parliament, but 
at once resolved on a dissolution and on an election of a 
new House of Commons, thus purposely affording an op- 
portunity for the people to express their opinions by their 
votes. The new House met on April 25, 1660, and took 
the oath of the "Solemn League and Covenant." (See 
Chap. VII.) 

Charles II., however, adopted as his motto his grand- 
father James's axiom, "No bishop, no king," and the 
best that could be done was to institute a compromise, 
by moderate Presbyterians and moderate Episcopalians, 
combined in a mixed form of church government. 

The Divine Right for Church Government. — The as- 
sumption that any form of church government can claim 
a divine right for the same has plainly no direct sanction 
in the Scriptures, but is only an inference from the men- 
tion, incidentally, of cases involving church government 



THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION. 63 

or regulation. Efforts were made by the different relig- 
ious parties or denominations in those troublous times to 
prove that each of their respective forms of church gov- 
ernment was jure divino, or of divine authority. This 
being the case, it was natural for each to desire to be in 
connection with the state, and no doubt these good men 
persuaded themselves that their own church under such 
circumstances would be in a sphere of greater usefulness. 

In accordance with the theory of the times, the Long 
Parliament took measures that were essential for the sup- 
port of the church and for its union with the state. In 
those days, compared with the present, the statesmen and 
divines were limited in their views of religious liberty 
and they were unwilling to favor all denominations alike 
by supporting their respective ministers from the public 
funds. On the contrary, the policy was to select one de- 
nomination and make it the only recipient of state favor 
or support, and in addition, what was exceedingly unjust, 
the unfavored ones had not only to support their own min- 
isters but share in the expense of the State Church by pay- 
ing tithes for its benefit. Each denomination wished to 
prove that its form of government was of divine author- 
ity, and in such case it had an undoubted claim to be 
placed in union with the state. How much time was wasted 
in the discussion of these questions ! On them the Scrip- 
tures are silent, except only in incidentally mentioning the 
manner in which the affairs of the primitive church were 
administered. 

Plan for a State Church. — The politicians of the Long 
Parliament were in favor of making the Presbyterian de- 
nomination the State Church, as had already been done 
in Scotland. In accordance with this partiality it passed 
a bill (Jan. 29, 1648) : "For the speedy dividing and set- 
tling the several counties of this kingdom into distinct 
presbyteries and congregational elderships." The Parlia- 



64 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ment, after conferring with the assembly of divines at 
Westminster, issued the following order: "That there 
be forthwith a choice made of elders throughout the king- 
dom of England and Wales." In these regulations the 
ratio was instituted of two elders to one minister in the 
meetings of the presbyteries. In this early day we see 
how careful the Presbyterians were to secure the rights 
of the people or church members. This mode of govern- 
ment was in marked contrast with that of the Romish 
Church, wherein the private members had no voice, and 
the same principle was prominent in the Church of Eng- 
land under James and the two Charles, wherein the bish- 
ops ruled with a high hand and repudiated the idea that 
the private members should have a voice in church af- 
fairs. 

In accordance with the model proposed by the West- 
minster Confession, the Presbyterian form of church gov- 
ernment was to be adapted to England, Wales and Ire- 
land. This organization of the Church of England on a 
Presbyterian basis similar to that of Scotland was pre- 
vented by the interference of Cromwell and the Inde- 
pendents, but owing to the disintegrating principle of the 
latter' s mode of church government this union with the 
State had but little influence, if any at all. That rule was 
continued during the Commonwealth, but the Episcopal 
was restored as the State Church under Charles II. in 
1660, after an interval of about twelve years. 

It is worthy of note that the theory of the Apostolic 
succession henceforth became an element in the political 
world, as with it was associated the jus divinum author- 
ity of the king. The Romanizing bishops even gave their 
sanction to this theory in order to strengthen their own 
influence both in the Church and State. Says Prof. 
Fisher: "The theory that there can be no church with- 
out prelatical bishops was never maintained by Episco- 



THE WESTMINSTER CONFESSION. 65 

palians in England until the days when a school of theo- 
logians, who were at the same time supporters of the 
tyranny of the Stuarts, brought it forward and used it 
in the controversy with the Puritans." ( The Validity of 
Non-Prelatical Ordination, p. 18.) 



IX. 



Emigrations to the Colonies — Congregational and 

Presbyterian. 

We have concisely traced the influences that led to the 
outgrowth of Presbyterianism in the British Isles. We 
have noted its underlying principles, such as the parity of 
the ministry; a church government by presbyters; if not 
in so many words, practically the same among the Re- 
formed churches on the Continent and the Bible ac- 
cepted as the only infallible rule of faith and practice. 
Their form of church government, in which the church 
members had a part, was in opposition to the prelatical 
system, the outgrowth of the arbitrary rule of the Church 
of Rome. That system, however, suited the kings and 
queens of England, who impiously assume to be the head 
of the church, while the genuine Reformers held that 
Christ, alone, was the head of His Church, as he himself 
declared to his disciples when he said that he was the 
Master. 

Puritans in Virginia. — We learn incidentally from his- 
tory that among the English emigrants who came to Vir- 
ginia (1607), and who founded the first English perma- 
nent settlement upon the soil of the present United States, 
there were Puritan ministers. Some of these, it is prob- 
able, were Presbyterians and some were Independents, 
but as the form of church government was looked upon 
as non-essential by both parties among the Puritans, we 
find the terms expressive of either form very seldom used. 
We learn, however, incidentally that these ministers were 



EMIGRATIONS TO THE COLONIES. 67 

not prelatists and did not conform to the rites and cere- 
monies of the established church. One of them, Alex- 
ander Whitaker, whom George Bancroft characterizes as 
"the self-denying apostle of Virginia," after describing 
in a letter the religious services on the Sabbath day, re- 
marks incidentally (1614) : "Here neither surplice nor 
subscription" — that is to the church services — "is spoken 
of." 

Some thirty years after this declaration was made 
(1645) ^ was "specially ordered that no minister should 
preach or teach publicly or privately except in conformity 
to the Church of England; non-conformists were ban- 
ished." The reader will notice that when this order was 
issued the Westminster Assembly of Divines was in ses- 
sion, Charles I. was on the throne, and the civil commo- 
tions had already commenced which brought him to 
the block. Nevertheless, prelatical influence at home 
urged the authorities in Virginia to persecute the non- 
conformists. The indirect rule of the bishops in that 
colony was exceedingly intolerant toward the non-con- 
formists or dissenters, and in consequence of these con- 
tinued persecutions there occurred one hundred and thirty 
years afterward the severest struggle for religious liberty 
in American history — which will be noted further on, p. 
159- — and which resulted in the complete overthrow of the 
interfering prelatical power in the state. About this time 
(1643) the Virginia Puritans invited preachers from the 
Colony of Massachusetts Bay to supply the religious 
wants of the people, but when they came they were forbid- 
den to preach by the colonial authorities and were also 
ordered to leave the country. Sir William Berkeley was 
appointed Governor in 1642, and he held the office for 
nearly forty years. He is represented as a courtier and 
"very malignant toward the way of the churches" in New 
England. He had been instructed to enforce the cere- 



68 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

monies of the Church of England. There had been no 
religious persecution till 1642, when Berkeley was ap- 
pointed Governor, and to him belongs the odium of insti- 
tuting the persecution of these Christians, who would not 
violate their conscience by conforming in their worship 
to the prescribed ceremonies of the established church. 

The Policy of the Virginia Company. — The sympathy 
of the original Virginia Company was with the Puritan 
ministers, and oftentimes when such were deprived of 
their livings in England because they would not conform 
to the rules laid down by prelatical authority, the com- 
pany would aid them in migrating to Virginia. This 
action roused the anger of James and he arbitrarily re- 
voked the charter of the company (1624) .While the char- 
ter was in existence Virginia was under Puritan control ; 
not indeed that form of Puritanism which became dom- 
inant in New England and ruled Great Britain under the 
Lord Protector, but the Puritanism of the English Presby- 
terians, who desired to reform the national church." {Am. 
^ Pres., p. go.) The American colonies were added to the 
bishopric of the Bishop of London, whose duty it was to 
a appoint for them their clergy. 

The Puritans had sent ministers as missionaries to the 
Bermuda or Somers Islands as early as 1612, and num- 
bers of these from time to time migrated to Virginia. 
Meantime many Puritan ministers and also Puritan fam- 
ilies were coming as settlers to the same colony. Among 
the ministers was Robert Bolton, who preached at Eliz- 
abeth City and to the colonists on the eastern shore of the 
'V Chesapeake. 

The Plymouth Colony. — Thirteen years after the com- 
mencement of the colony in Virginia the Pilgrim Fathers 
landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts (Dec. 21, 1620). Ow- 
ing to the continual annoyances instigated by the English 
bishops this congregation had previously sought relief by 



EMIGRATIONS TO THE COLONIES. 69 

removing in a body from England to Holland, where they 
could enjoy religious liberty. Their pastor, John Rob- 
inson, went with them as their guide. He was remarka- 
ble for his toleration and Christian charity, and with his 
spirit the entire congregation appear to have been im- 
bued. After a sojourn of several years in Holland they 
resolved, for valid reasons, to migrate to the new world, 
and thither the larger portion went. Their beloved pastor 
was unable to accompany them, but he entrusted the man- 
agement of the enterprise to their elder, William Brew- 
ster. Death prevented Robinson joining his flock in their 
new homes at Plymouth. (Patton's Four Hundred Years 
of American History, I., pp. P3-103.) 

For nearly ten years the congregation was without a 
pastor. For eighteen years the colony was a pure democ- 
racy ; the male members voting on every question pertain- 
ing to the secular government, while in respect to church 
matters the form was independent, though in the congre- 
gation were many Presbyterians, among whom was Elder 
Brewster. 

A Presbyterian Church Organized. — The founding of 
a Presbyterian colony on Massachusetts Bay was encour- 
aged by "the Presbyterian leaders in the South of England 
and also in London." The Rev. John White of Dorches- 
ter was a controlling mind in planning the enterprise. So 
much interest did Christian men take in the project that 
Arthur Lake, the evangelical Bishop of Bath and Wells, 
declared "he would go himself but for his age." It was 
to be a "colonization on a higher principle than the desire 
of gain." The first instalment of colonists came in 1625, 
but the perfect organization did not take place till 1629, 
after a second and quite a large company of immigrants 
arrived, when a Presbyterian church was fully consti- 
tuted. Their pastor was Rev. Samuel Skelton, and their 
teacher Francis Higginson. 



70 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Why the Presbyterians Were Liberal. — The Puritans 
who were presbyterian in their opinions on church gov- 
ernment were liberal and looked upon such form of rule 
merely as expedient. They were extremely anxious that 
the essential doctrines of the gospel should be held in their 
purity, and they also wished to promote the cause of 
Christ and preserve the peace of the church. Thus when 
occasion required they united with the Congregationalists 
in the New World, as they had already done in both Eng- 
land and Scotland. On this principle the Presbyterian 
Churches fraternized with those of the Plymouth colony. 
Dr. Dexter says: "The early Congregationalism of this 
country was a Congregationalized Presbyterianism or a 
Presbyterianized Congregationalism, which had its roots 
in the one system and its branches in another ; which was 
essentially Genevan (Calvinistic) within the local congre- 
gation and essentially other outside of it." {Congregation- 
alism, p. 46 3.) This combination of church organization 
gradually passed out of existence in the colony and the 
main body of the churches became Congregational in their 
form of government, the Presbyterians acquiesced as a 
matter of expediency and a promoter of peace. Another 
element had, perhaps, an unconscious influence in after 
years. That was the success of Cromwell and the Inde- 
pendents in seizing the secular government in England, 
which action had a marked effect in New England during 
the Commonwealth (1649-1658) of promoting an in- 
crease in the numbers of the churches that adopted the 
Congregational mode of government. From this influ- 
ence came the union of Church and State after the Crom- 
well pattern in Massachusetts, and afterward in Con- 
necticut, and which arrangement remained in force forty 
years after the Presbyterians had compelled the separa- 
tion of Church and State in Virginia (1773- 1786). The 






EMIGRATIONS TO THE COLONIES. 7 1 

influence of the latter led within a few years to a similar 
separation in the Carolinas and Georgia. 

Limited Influence of the Synod. — There were no pure 
presbyteries as there are to-day formed in New England 
on account of the differences of opinion on the subject of 
church government. The synods, so named, were only 
used for consultation and advice. They had no power 
to use discipline ; their authority being spiritual and moral. 
This was consistent with the underlying principle which 
made each Congregational Church independent and vir- 
tually isolated from sister churches. 

The Constitution of the Congregational Church. — 
The first Congregational Church in America was formed 
in Charlestown on the 30th of July, 1630. Soon after- 
ward, "crossing the Charles River, it became known as 
the First Church of Boston," and it also became "the 
seminal center of the ecclesiastical system of Massachu- 
setts." It embodied as one of the principles of Congre- 
gationalism: "The equality of the several churches, free 
from the jurisdiction of ecclesiastical court or bishop; 
free from the jurisdiction of one church over another, and 
free from the collective authority of them all." {Ban- 
croft, vol. i., p. 238, last revision.) 

The members of the Independent or Congregational 
churches in New England were largely in the majority, 
and prospered greatly, but in the course of time they un- 
fortunately became somewhat intolerant in respect to 
other denominations of Christians. 

The Presbyterians of New England took much interest 
in evangelizing the natives. John Eliot, the Apostle to 
the Indians, was a Presbyterian, and the Presbyterians 
who settled at Salem made efforts also to send the gospel 
to the Indians in their vicinity. 

Migration of Presbyterians to New York. — In those 
times of ecclesiastical annoyances, if not harsh persecu- 



72 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

r tions, most of the emigrants from the British Isles to the 
American colonies came in organized bodies, bringing 
with them their ministers, as did the Pilgrims to Massa- 
chusetts, the Roman Catholics to Maryland and the 
Friends to Pennsylvania. In only one instance, already 
noticed, did the Presbyterians attempt this mode, when 
a Presbyterian congregation emigrated and settled in 
Massachusetts with Rev. Samuel Skelton as their pastor. 
In after years during more than a half century such 
movements of congregations from one colony to another 
sometimes occurred in order to enjoy more religious lib- 
erty, and perhaps for other reasons. 

The liberality of the Dutch on the Island of Manhattan 
and vicinity stands out prominent, and perhaps for this 
reason more than any other Presbyterian ministers and 
laymen with their families availed themselves of this lib- 
erality and migrated to the colony of New York. The 
first was Rev. John Young, who had been ordained in 
the Church of England. He came direct from New Eng- 
land and organized a church at Southhold, Long Island 
(1640). The second was Abraham Pierson. He was a 
graduate of Cambridge. His first pastorate was Lynn, 
Massachusetts; thence he removed to South Hampton, 
Long Island, and afterward to Branford, Connecticut. 
From the latter place he migrated with a portion of his 
church members to Newark, New Jersey, where he or- 
ganized the first Puritan Church in that state. It was his 
son of the same name who became President of Yale Col- 
lege in 1692. 

Francis Doughty, who had been silenced for non-con- 
formity in England, emigrated to Taunton, Massachu- 
setts. There he maintained the Presbyterian doctrine of 
infant baptism, but owing to the hostile influence of the 
Congregational minister he was forced to leave. He and 
his wife and Richard Smith, a ruling elder, and other ad- 



EMIGRATIONS TO THE COLONIES. 73 

herents came to Newtown, Long Island, but soon after V 
an Indian war broke out, and this small number of Pres- 
byterians with their minister fled to Manhattan for safety. 
Thus Doughty became the first Presbyterian minister in 
New Amsterdam (1643). He preached there for five 
years and was supported by the contributions of his own 
people and the voluntary gifts of the Dutch who attended 
his ministry. He afterward went to Virginia, about 1650. A 

The second Presbyterian minister in New Amsterdam 
was Richard Denton, though only temporarily. Num- 
bers of the Dutch and French attended on his preaching 
in a church building that was within the fort, and at dif- 
ferent hours of service. During this period and imme- 
diately afterward the number of Puritans and Presbyte- 
rians increased, so that when New Amsterdam was cap- 
tured (1664) by the English there were within the bounds 
of what is now New York six Puritan or Presbyterian 
ministers and their congregations, much to the credit of 
the liberality and toleration of the Dutch authorities, Peter 
Stuyvesant being then the Governor. Here were mem- 
bers of the Church of Holland, Presbyterians and Inde- 
pendents, as well as Jews and Quakers, all living in har- 
mony and as far as history shows each denomination en- 
joying religious liberty. The Presbyterians and Inde- 
pendents were the more numerous and were looked upon 
as the more substantial. 

Rev. Richard Denton deserves a passing notice. He 
was a Presbyterian in his views of church polity. He 
was of a good Yorkshire family and received his edu- 
cation at Cambridge (1623). For seven years he was a 
pastor in his native land, but because of persecutions he 
left for America about the year 1630, and for five years he 
labored at Watertown, Mass., but because of his Presbyte- 
rianism he was opposed by certain Congregationalists, and 
in consequence he removed in 1635 to the valley of the 
7 



74 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Connecticut and settled in a place which he named 
Weathersfield. Meanwhile he preached also at Stam- 
ford, but in 1644 we find him at Hempstead, Long Island, 
where he remained as pastor of the Presbyterian 
(Christ's) Church for fifteen years, when in 1659 he re- 
turned to England. A large number of his church mem- 
bers followed him to Hempstead. 

Richard Denton was recognized as a fine scholar. The 
Dutch pastors of New Amsterdam describe him to be 
a Presbyterian and "an honest, pious and learned man." 
Though the regular pastor at Hempstead, Denton occa- 
sionally ministered in New Amsterdam in an English 
Puritan Church, after the Rev. Francis Doughty (1650) 
left for Virginia. 

Christ's First Presbyterian Church at Hempstead re- 
cently (October, 1894) celebrated with imposing ceremo- 
nies the 250th anniversary of its permanent founding by 
Richard Denton. "Our claim is not that the Hempstead 
church is the oldest Protestant and presbyterial in form 
in the churches in America * * * but that it is the 
oldest of the denomination which has always been called 
by the name Presbyterian." {Souvenir of the 250th An- 
niversary, etc., p. 20; Am. Pres., p. 102.) 

Christian Brotherhood in Practice. — The beautiful con- 
dition mentioned above of Christian brotherhood and mu- 
tual toleration was destined to be changed soon, for when 
the English took possession of the province for the sec- 
ond time (in 1674) almost at once was felt the perse- 
cuting spirit of the bishops around the corrupt court of 
Charles II. Notwithstanding these annoyances for about 
twenty years afterward Presbyterian and Independent 
ministers, some with their families and not a few adher- 
ents, continued to emigrate from England and Scotland 
and from the north of Ireland to the colonies of New 
York and New Jersey. Many of these made their homes 



EMIGRATIONS TO THE COLONIES. 75 

on Long Island, which seems to have been to these im- 
migrants a favorite region. Meanwhile many settled in 
what is now known as Westchester County, as well as on 
the Isle of Manhattan itself. 

Statement of Governor Andross. — In 1678 Edmund \ 
Andross, who was Governor under James II., wrote that 
there were in the province "religions of all sorts; one 
Church of England, several Presbyterians and Independ- 
ents, Quakers, Anabaptists of several sects, some Jews, 
but Presbyterians and Independents most numerous and 
substantial.''" During this period we notice the names of ^ 
nearly thirty ministers who came at different times and 
settled in many places within the jurisdiction of the New 
York colony. It would seem that the Presbyterians and 
Independents increased at even a greater ratio than did 
their ministry. 

Influence of the Act of Toleration. — Until the great 
Revolution of 1688 — when James II. was driven from 
the throne to give place to William of Orange — the diffi- 
culties that arose between the royal governors and the 
people, both Dutch and Puritan, pertained to civil affairs 
rather than to religious matters. The Revolution of 1688 
had to a certain extent brought toleration to those Chris- 
tians in England who dissented from the established 
church, but not to the same class in the colonies, inas- 
much as the secular authorities of the latter held that the 
Act of Toleration did not apply to the colonies. We shall 
see that after a long and severe struggle it was finally de- 
cided in the case of the Colony of Virginia (1748, p. 168) 
that the act did apply to the colonies. 



X. 



Contrast in Land-Holdings — The Cavaliers — Eld- 
ers as Worthies. 

In Virginia owing to royal grants of large bodies of 
land — often whole counties — to court favorites, an effort 
was made to found a system of landed estates, which in 
important respects was in contrast with the settlements in 
the northern colonies. In Virginia these large grants of 
land rendered the population less in proportion to the 
extent of territory occupied than in the latter, the result 
in time was a landed aristocracy modeled somewhat after 
that of England. This aristocracy was from first to last 
derelict in its duty toward the general education of the 
youth of the colony. In Massachusetts, for example, the 
landed system was in direct contrast, as in the latter the 
estates in land were comparatively small, while the law, 
and subsequently the rule in the other New England colo- 
nies, was far-reaching in its influence. In accordance 
with the law the farms were compact and so arranged 
that one end should jut on a street, on which were placed 
the dwellings, and they within a specified distance from 
the meeting-house and the school-room. These two con- 
trasted systems produced in time radical differences in the 
educational and religious training of the people; for il- 
lustration, public or common schools were firmly estab- 
lished in Massachusetts in 1647; an d these soon became 
the heritage of the children throughout New England, 
and in time in the other free-labor States, while not a com- 
mon school in the usual sense was in existence south of 



CONTRAST IN LAND-HOLDINGS. 77 

Mason and Dixon's line till they were established by the 
national government after the close of the Civil War. 
(Pat ton's Four Hundred Years of American History, .-■ 
I., p. 124; II., pp. 858,859.) 

In a community in which all the youth were taught the 
essential elements of an education there was a better 
foundation on which to base a Christianized civilization 
than in one in which the majority of the parents were illit- 
erate, and consequently the children ignorant. 

The Royalists. — Another element, that of the Royalists 
or Cavaliers, prevailed in Virginia and the Carolinas, but 
nowhere else in the colonies. The Cavaliers or Royalists 
were all in connection with the Church of England and 
were fair exponents of the persecuting spirit which that 
church inherited from the hierarchy of Rome. For this 
reason we find that after the abrogation of the original 
charter of the Virginia Company, the dissenters, or those 
Christians who could not in their conscience conform to 
the ceremonies of the established church, were at the 
mercy of the clergy of that church then in the colony. The 
latter, for the most part, were stimulated by the spirit of 
the bishops at home, as they were incessantly urging the 
royal governors, the court and civil authorities to< pro- 
hibit the dissenting ministers preaching, except under 
certain harsh conditions. To their honor, be it said, the 
royal governors — except Sir William Berkeley — were in- 
clined to favor the dissenting ministers in preaching the 
gospel — we will see in the course of this narrative this 
fact made manifest. The Colony of Virginia was the only 
one in which the civil authorities had arbitrary power in 
church affairs, and it was the only one in which a contest 
for religious liberty could be made direct with such au- 
thorities. 

Berkeley's Prayer. — Sir William Berkeley is the author 
of the now famous words of gratitude and prayer: "I 



V 



V 



>v 



78 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

thank God there are no free schools nor printing in the 
colony; and I hope we will not have them these hundred 
years ; God deliver us from both !" (Patton's Four Hun- 
dred Years, etc., I., pp. 138, 139.) Such was the predom- 
inant influence on the education of the youth of the col- 
ony, and whose effects are felt even in our own times. 

Why the Enmity of the Clergy? — The Cavaliers looked 
upon the Presbyterians as inimical to the established 
church, and therefore to the House of Stuart. In conse- 
quence of this feeling the clergy of that church in the 
colony were bitterly opposed to the Presbyterian minis- 
ters that came to Virginia as missionaries. This hostile 
spirit on the part of these clergy toward all dissenters 
continued unabated from 1642 to 1786, when, as we shall 
see, the connection between the State and the Church was 
severed forever. 

The Charter for Maryland. — Sir George Calvert, after- 
ward Lord Baltimore, left the Protestant Church and 
professed himself a Roman Catholic, which ingratiated 
him with King Charles I. Calvert desired to found a 
colony where those of his present faith could flee to avoid 
persecution. After making a fruitless attempt on the 
barren territory of Newfoundland, he applied to Charles 
for a grant of land and the privilege of founding a colony 
in the fertile and beautiful region north of Virginia. The 
request was granted, and he obtained a charter and a 
district of territory, the greater part of which is now 
included in the present State of Maryland (1632). 

The Liberal Policy. — Calvert was prudent and far-see- 
ing ; having been trained in his youth as a Protestant, he 
repudiated intolerance as a policy, and he invited the Pur- 
itans who were then being driven out of Virginia by the 
persecuting Berkeley, to come and share the religious 
privileges that were enjoyed by the Catholics, for whom, 
ostensibly, his colony was founded. The latter soon be- 




Rev. John Rodgers, D. D. 

(141, 208, 247, 280.) 



CONTRAST IN LAND-HOLDINGS. 79 

came the minority, owing to the influx of those thus in- 
vited. The colony freed from civil and religious turmoil 
continued to flourish for years ; the privileges of the peo- 
ple were understood; allegiance was acknowledged to the 
home government, and the fights of the heirs of Lord Bal- 
timore were respected. 

The people advanced so far in their ideas of the liberty 
of thought and free expression that the authorities passed 
a law (1649) granting perfect toleration to all Christian 
sects; two years previous Rhode Island had granted tol- 
eration to all opinions, infidel as well as Christian. 

The Repentant Chaplain. — Rev. Thomas Harrison was 
at one time the chaplain of Governor Berkeley. He was 
a strict conformist and stern opposer of those Christians 
who did not conform, and he is charged with instigating 
the Governor to acts of intolerance against the Puritan 
ministers. Harrison, however, relented in his manner 
toward the persecuted, and finally became himself an ear- 
nest Christian minister or Puritan. The Governor dis- 
missed him from his service as chaplain. He then de- 
voted himself to preaching to a Presbyterian church at 
Nansemond. He was so much annoyed by petty perse- 
cutions that he removed to Boston and thence to Eng- 
land, where in behalf of the church members of Nanse- 
mond, he complained to the government of the ill-treat- 
ment which they had received at the hands of the Gov- 
ernor. The Council of State was now under Cromwell 
(1649) an d it required Berkeley "to permit the same Mr. 
Harrison to return to his said congregation and to the 
exercise of his ministry there." Mr. Harrison, however, 
did not return to Virginia, but the members of his church 
in order to avoid further persecutions migrated to Mary- 
land under the leadership of their ruling elder, William 
Durand. The congregation was invited by Captain Will- 
iam Stone, a Protestant, who was then Governor of the 



SO A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

colony for Lord Baltimore. This company of exiles was 
afterward followed by many families from the vicinity 
of Nansemond, who thus escaped from the intolerance of 
Berkeley. Durand was a man of sterling character and 
influence. This may be inferred from the fact he was 
appointed secretary of the commission sent from England 
to reduce Virginia and Maryland to obedience to the 
parliament. 

The Worthy Elder. — Colonel Ninian Beall was well 
qualified as a Christian and benevolent man to succeed 
the excellent elder, William Durand. Mr. Beall came 
to Maryland in 1657; ne ma de his way to success; from 
a mechanic of limited means he became for the times 
a man of wealth, owning much land. Enterprising in 
business he aided the people by introducing needed man- 
ufactures, such as a flour mill and a furnace to smelt 
iron from ore found in the vicinity. In these times of 
trouble from hostile Indians he took an interest in mil- 
itary affairs, and on occasion commanded a portion of the 
provincial troops. In recognition of such service the 
Colonial Assembly gave him a special grant. 

In the affairs of the Presbyterian Church on the west 
shore of the Chesapeake he was an efficient officer, hold- 
ing as best he could the church members together in the 
absence of a pastor. "He may lay claim to be called the 
father of Presbyterianism in Maryland. He was present 
at its birth, sustained it in its day of weakness and in 
1704 gave it a handsome endowment of land at Upper 
Marlboro, or Patuxent, for a church building.'' He 
lived to a great age, 92 years, dying in 1717; he was 
well acquainted with the ministers who constituted the 
first presbytery. (P. 92.) He saw a single church grow 
into a vigorous synod. * * * It is almost certain 
that he is the 'ancient and comely man, an elder amongst 
the Presbyterians/ who entertained for some davs 



CONTRAST IN LAND-HOLDINGS. 8 1 

Thomas Wilson, the famous Quaker preacher, at his 
house in 1692" — as noted in the latter 's life. {Early — 
Presbyterianism in Maryland, p. 13.) 

Doughty and Hill. — Rev. Franefs Doughty, whom we 
have seen as the first Presbyterian minister in New Am- 
sterdam, had a difficulty with the Governor, Peter Stuy- 
vesant, in relation to a land grant of which the Governor 
wished to deprive him, and to avoid the anger of the 
former Doughty migrated to the Colony of Maryland. 
For this high-handed measure the Governor was called 
to an account by the authorities in Holland. (Am. Pres., ^-~ 
p. 1 01.) Doughty preached to the exiles from Virginia, 
and thus he labored until his death, in traveling from 
place to place as an apostle. The little flocks to whom 
he ministered in time were organized into churches, which 
were afterward represented in a presbytery. 

Another worthy of this period deserves mention — 
Matthew Hill. He had been ejected from his living in 
England because of his non-conformity (1662), and 
seven years later we find him preaching to the people in 
Maryland, whom he describes as "a loving and a willing 
people * * * and not at all fond of the litany or 
ceremonies." "To Francis Doughty and Matthew Hill, 
long-forgotten worthies, the Presbyterian Church in the 
Middle States is indebted for its early planting. They 
were the pioneers and martyrs in its ministry, and their 
sufferings and toils were the seed of the church." (Am-. — 
Pres., p. 113.) 



XL 



Francis Makemie — Presbyterianism in Several 

Colonies. 

The most devoted and influential minister in the cause 
of Presbyterianism in its earlier days in the colonies of 
Virginia and Maryland was Francis Makemie. He came 
in T683 from the north of Ireland. He belonged to that 
portion of the people denominated Scotch-Irish; that is 
of Scotch ancestry, but natives of Ireland. There is no 
record of the names of his parents, and only a reference 
to the days of his youth. He says of himself that in his 
fifteenth year, while under the instruction of a pious 
schoolmaster, he felt the influence of the Holy Spirit in 
his soul. 

He studied in the University of Glasgow and was li- 
censed to preach by the Presbytery of Laggan in Ire- 
land, under whose direction he was sent as a missionary 
to the Barbadoes or Bermuda Islands, and from there 
he came to Maryland. He traveled much as an itinerant 
and preached to the small Presbyterian flocks that were 
scattered in Virginia and Maryland, especially in the 
latter. He is said to have been the first dissenting min- 
ister that was permitted by the colonial authorities to 
preach in Virginia ; this permission was, perhaps, in con- 
sequence of his having a certificate authorizing him to 
preach in Barbadoes. He is thought to have been the 
first minister of the Geneva or Calvinistic school that 
made his residence in this region. 

He came thither about forty years after the formula- 



FRANCIS MAKEMIE. 83 

tion of the Westminster Confession, in which was a 
clear statement in respect to the duties of the civil mag- 
istrate, as pertaining to religious worship. He was evi- 
dently familiar with these principles as put forth in that 
confession, as he made an application of them in his ar- 
gument with the colonial authorities, when advocating 
his right to preach the gospel. 

Makemie's Business Talents. — Makemie appears to 
have been a man of some means, which, says tradition, 
was derived from the fortune of his wife, who was the 
daughter of a wealthy colonist of Accomac County, Vir- 
ginia. He was a successful merchant in the West India 
trade. When in the colonies he traveled and preached, 
though his secular affairs often required his absence, but 
finally he settled down and devoted his whole time to 
preaching and at his own expense ; in that respect adopt- 
ing the Apostle Paul as his model. Thus he labored from 
first to last, about twenty-five years. He organized into 
churches the little groups of Presbyterians of Maryland, 
many of whose members were exiles from the religious 
intolerance of Berkeley in Virginia. 

It appears that after 1698 Makemie made Snow Hill, 
on the eastern shore of Maryland, his settled home. The 
church of which he was pastor was authorized by the 
Provincial Assembly about 1699. For the reader will re- 
member that in 1692 the Church of England was by law 
established in Maryland — hence the necessity for a per- 
mit to have a Presbyterian church. The perfect freedom 
of religious worship had vanished from Maryland, and 
now the bishops at home and the clergy in the colony 
stimulated the civil authorities to interfere with the "dis- 
senters." The Presbyterians felt this influence still fur- 
ther in their being compelled by law to pay taxes to sup- 
port the clergy of the established church. 

The Memorial Church. — A few years since, in 1889, 



84 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

at Snow Hill was dedicated the "Francis Makemie Me- 
morial Church." Thus after the lapse of nearly two 
hundred years, Makemie's labors were duly recognized 
and honored by a thankful generation of Presbyterians. 
Makemie left no descendants. Says a chronicler of the 
times: "Numerous parents manifested their respect for 
his memory by giving his surname to certain of their 
children and in the last century in that region Makemie 
was very common as a Christian name." 

A Staunch Defender of Religious Liberty. — Francis 
Makemie was a steadfast and consistent defender of the 
right to preach the gospel, in which character he often 
figured. The famous Toleration Act was passed in 1689. 
It afforded religious liberty under certain conditions, but 
only partially to the dissenters in England, and not even 
to the same extent in the colonies, as the authorities of the 
latter, especially in Virginia, assumed that the act did 
not apply to the colonies, and the Virginia civil officers 
and courts acted on that principle for more than half a 
century after the time of which we write, and in fact till 
compelled by Presbyterian influence to yield the point. 
(See p. 168.) Makemie claimed that the Act of Tolera- 
tion was in force in the colonies, as well as in England. 
This opinion he presented with great force in an argu- 
ment before the Governor and Council in Virginia, and 
afterward in New York before Lord Cornbury. He 
demanded in both instances the recognition of the rights 
of conscience as acknowledged by English law. He 
claimed it was no crime to preach the gospel to those who 
desired to hear it. 

After the Church of England was established in 1692 
Makemie applied under the Toleration Act to the court 
in Accomac for a license to preach. The court could not 
deny him, because he used his own private houses, of 
which he had two, as preaching places, and they were 



FRANCIS MAKEMIE. 85 

protected by the common law, since an "Englishman's 
house was his castle," and not even the king himself could 
legally enter it without the owner's permission. Public 
buildings in Virginia were denied the dissenters for re- 
ligious worship. 

A Presbyterian Church Organized. — Makemie organ- 
ized a Presbyterian church, which was named Reho- 
both, and whose house of worship remains to this day 
on the Maryland side of the Potomac. In his will he 
left the house "for the ends and use of a Presbyterian 
congregation, as if I were personally present, and to their 
successors forever, and none else, but to such of the same 
persuasion in matters of religion." Makemie organized a 
sufficient number of Presbyterian churches, which at his 
death in 1708 required for their pastoral care three minis- 
ters. In all his life he was in advance of many of his own 
age, and a consistent advocate for civil liberty and equal 
religious rights, granting in spirit and in act to others the 
same rights that he demanded for himself. 

Thus in this region, so isolated because of its position, 
it being "a narrow neck of land between the ocean and 
Chesapeake Bay," and on that portion which belongs 
to Maryland, originated the mother churches of the Pres- 
byterian denomination in the Middle States. The land 
of this district was by no means inviting to colonists be- 
cause of the fertility of its soil, for it was as barren then 
as it is to-day; but it was in Maryland, where religious 
liberty, till 1692, was enjoyed, in contrast with its neigh- 
bor, Virginia, in which the intolerant Church of Eng- 
land held ecclesiastical sway. Owing to its secluded 
position, there is, perhaps, no region on the Atlantic 
slope whose inhabitants in their characteristics have 
changed so little from those of that early day. 

Makemie's Trial in New York. — In this connection 
we notice an incident that made the name of Makemie 



86 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

known throughout the colonies. He was on his way to 
Boston, accompanied by John Hampton, a Presbyterian 
minister. Having stopped at New York, he was invited 
by the Puritans of the place to preach; the Dutch offer- 
ing their church edifice for the purpose, but Lord Corn- 
bury, the Governor, forbid its being thus used. Make- 
mie, however, preached in a private house (Jan. 20, 
1707). According to the recognized "Englishmen's 
Rights" and English common law, as the court after- 
ward decided, the citizen who offered his own private 
dwelling for the purpose of holding a religious service was 
justified, as well as the preacher. Notwithstanding this 
fact, for thus preaching Makemie was arrested by order 
of the Governor a day or two later at Newtown, Long 
Island, where he was to preach. He had with him a 
certificate authorizing him to preach in Virginia and also 
in Barbadoes, but not in New York, and therefore the 
Governor forbid his preaching in the province. Make- 
mie boldly answered the Governor, saying: "To give 
bond and security to preach no more in your Excellency's 
government, if invited and desired by any people, we 
neither dare nor can do." The result was that Makemie 
was bound over for trial, which was to take place on 
June 3, 1707. Having been detained a month or more 
his friends applied to the Supreme Court on writ of 
habeas corpus and he was released on bail (March 1st, 
1707). The case of Hampton, who was also arrested, 
was not pressed. Makemie returned to New York and 
stood his trial and was acquitted by the court on the 
ground that he had complied with the conditions of the 
Toleration Act. Thus his license to preach in the Bar- 
badoes was held to be valid throughout the queen's do- 
minions. But, strange to say, Makemie was obliged by 
the couri to pay the expenses of the trial, £83 7s. 6d. He 
was defended by three of the ablest lawyers in the prov- 



FRANCIS MAKEMIE. 87 

ince. The tyrannical action of the dissolute Cornbury 
roused the entire body of the Puritans and Presbyterians 
against such injustice and intolerance. Francis Makemie 
died the following year, 1708. (Am. Pres., XLIX., App.) 
(See p. 94.) 

Presbyterianism in New Jersey. — We have already al- 
luded to the settlement of Abraham Pierson at Newark 
and of his son of the same name in East New Jersey 
(1667-1692). Meantime large numbers of Presbyte- 
rians were migrating to the same colony from New Eng- 
land and New York — many from the latter to avoid the 
petty annoyances of the established church. Puritan or 
Presbyterian churches were established under their min- 
isters at Elizabethtown and at Woodbridge about 1680. 
A writer of the time describes the people of this portion 
of Jersey as follows : "They are mostly New England 
men," of "several sorts of religion, but few are zealous." 
In every town there is a meeting-house where they wor- 
ship publicly every week." Their ministers were sup- 
ported by the voluntary contributions of the people, there 
being no law providing for their salaries. From Pil- 
loche in Scotland there came in 1685 m ore than one hun- 
dred exiles, who settled mostly at Woodbridge. With 
them came their pastor, Rev. George Scott, who with his 
brethren, Archibald Riddel and John Frazer, had been 
imprisoned because of their fidelity to Presbyterian prin- 
ciples. Others came also, but in not so large companies. 
A number of Puritans migrated from Fairfield County, 
Connecticut, under their pastor, Thomas Bridge, and 
founded a church at Cohanzy, in what was then called 
West Jersey. At the close of the year 1699 there were 
only four fully organized congregations of Puritans or 
Presbyterians in that colony, and three settled ministers. 

Presbyterianism in Delaware and Pennsylvania. — The 
earliest founding of Presbyterianism in . Delaware was 



88 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

under the ministry of Samuel Davis, who had a church 
and congregation at Lewes in 1692. Davis was probably 
an Irishman. He supported himself by business pur- 
suits. It appears from their correspondence on the sub- 
ject, that the ministers of Boston took an interest in send- 
ing the gospel to Delaware and to Pennsylvania. They 
sent Rev. John Wilson to New Castle, Delaware, to min- 
ister to the church in that place, and Rev. Benjamin 
Woodbridge to Philadelphia. The latter bore a letter 
of introduction from Governor Danforth of Massachu- 
setts to Governor Markham of Pennsylvania, saying: 
"Our beloved brother, Benjamin Woodbridge, now sent, 
not to handle such points as are matters of controversies 
among Protestants, but to preach unto as many of all 
persuasions as the Lord shall make willing to hear such 
truths, even as are without controversy, even the great 
mystery of godliness." (Am. Pres., p. 125.) Wood- 
bridge was superseded by Rev. Jedediah Andrews 
(1698), who served as the pastor of this, the only Presby- 
terian church in Philadelphia, for many years until his 
death. He became one of the fathers of the first Amer- 
ican classical presbytery — consisting of ministers and 
elders — in the colonies. 

Presbyterianism in South Carolina. — While these mi- 
grations were in progress in the northern colonies Pres- 
byterian immigrants were coming into the southern, es- 
pecially into South Carolina. Owing to civil commotions 
in Scotland numbers of Scotchmen, who were not in 
sympathy with the English government, were banished. 
A company of these, consisting of twenty-two, sailed from 
Glasgow having with them a minister, William Dunlop. 
They landed at Port Royal, South Carolina, about 1685 
or 1686, and commenced a settlement, but owing to the 
unwholesomeness of the localitv it was soon abandoned. 



FRANCIS MAKEMIE. 89 

Their pastor returned to Scotland, where he rose to emi- 
nence as principal of the University of Glasgow. 

Missionaries Sent — A Colony Formed. — Meantime the 
attention of the New England Puritans was directed to 
these southern colonies and they sent thither ministers 
as missionaries, under whose ministrations a number of 
churcheb were established in the colony. An attempt was 
also made by a trading company to found a colony of 
Scotch people on the Isthmus of Darien in 1698 or 1699. 
The General Assembly of Scotland sent to the colony 
several ministers to preach and act as pastors. Three 
of these ministers, Alexander Shields, Francis Boreland 
and Archibald Stobo, instituted the Presbytery of Cale- 
donia, the first presbytery in the New World. The germs 
planted here were not, however, permitted to grow and 
flourish. For within a few years the colony was broken 
up through the enmity of French and Spanish and hos- 
tile English traders — the home government meanly con- 
niving at the outrage, as it did not wish to cherish a 
Scottish colony. The majority of the colonists finally 
migrated to New England, where they were received with 
great kindness. Of their ministers one died and another 
returned home, and one — Archibald Stobo and his wife — 
were on their way to Scotland when the ship was driven 
by a storm to seek shelter in the harbor of Charleston, 
S.C. There he was invited to become the pastor of a Pres- 
byterian congregation whose minister, John Cotton, had 
died recently. He accepted the invitation and spent his 
life as their pastor and in the promotion of Presbyterian- 
ism in that colony. Stobo was a graduate of the Univer- 
sity of Edinburgh (1697). There were also a number 
of other Puritan congregations in the vicinity of Charles- 
ton. In one instance the members of one entire church 
with their pastor, Joseph Lord, removed from Charles- 
town, Mass., to Dorchester, S. C. It has been estimated 
8 



90 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

that in 1700 there were in the Carolinas several thousands 
of distinctive Presbyterians, besides those who were Con- 
gregationalists. 



XIL 

The Presbytery of Philadelphia (1706). 

There had been no effort at the end of the seventeenth 
century to constitute a presbytery and form of govern- 
ment for the Presbyterian churches that were scattered 
along the Atlantic slope from Connecticut to Florida. At 
this time there had been Presbyterian ministers in the 
midle colonies for about a quarter of a century, and who 
labored in the capacity of evangelists or traveling preach- 
ers and also as settled pastors. There were some ten or 
more Presbyterian-Puritan churches in New York and 
New Jersey; these were of New England origin, while 
churches of a more decided presbyterial type abounded 
further south in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Vir- 
ginia and South Carolina. 

Among the people of New England the form of church 
government — presbyterial or congregational — was 
deemed non-essential, and under these circumstances 
those who favored the presbyterial form waved their pref- 
erences on that point and joined in with the majority, 
who were Congregationalists, while in the colonies west 
of Connecticut the Congregationalists, for similar rea- 
sons, merged in with the Presbyterians. It often hap- 
pened that a Presbyterian minister became the pastor 
of a Congregational church, and as often was it the re- 
verse. This custom has been kept up to the present time ; 
the two denominations agreeing in the essential doctrines 
of the gospel thus manifested sympathy with one an- 
other. A marked good feeling at this period also prevailed 



92 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

between the Presbyterians and the Congregational or In- 
dependent Puritans of the British Isles, and naturally this 
Christian sentiment extended to their brethren in the 
New World. 

The Presbytery Constituted. — The Presbyterians of the 
Middle colonies, though all from Great Britain, were of 
different nationalities, as well as their ministers. Scot- 
land, England, Wales and Ireland had their representa- 
tives, while especially in New York a liberal and most ex- 
cellent element was present in the Dutch population. 
Such were the conditions under which the mother pres- 
bytery of the Presbyterian Church in the United States 
was constituted. "It was not organized by a higher body. 
It did not seek authority from the General Assembly of 
the Church of Scotland or from the Synod of Ulster. It 
organized itself by a voluntary association of ministers. 
It seems to have taken the Presbytery of Dublin as a 
model. It was a broad, generous, tolerant spirit which 
effected this union." The Presbytery of Dublin, whose 
members were chiefly English Presbyterians, maintained 
its independence of the Synod of Ulster, although some of 
the ministers were members of both bodies. "The Pres- 
byterians of the north of Ireland were from Scotland, 
as those of the south were from England. The northern 
Presbyterians were zealous for the Scotch presbytery, 
but the southern were suspicious of its claims for jurisdic- 
tion/' (Am. Pres., p. jjj.) 

There were present seven ministers; they met at Free- 
hold, New Jersey, in 1706. This appears from the min- 
utes to have been the second meeting, the record of the 
first one having been lost with the first page of the min- 
utes, and it is presumed that the presbytery was really 
formed in 1705. Four of the ministers present were set- 
tled pastors, and three were missionaries or itinerants. 
Their respective charges were far separated, and great 






THE PRESBYTERY OF PHILADELPHIA (1706). 93 

must have been the difficulties of traveling on account of 
the badness of the roads; the Indians were even yet on 
the borders of the settlements. Francis Makemie was 
pastor at Snow Hill, Maryland — whom tradition says was 
the moderator. John Wilson at New Castle, and Samuel 
Davis at Lewes, Delaware, and Jedediah Andrews at Phil- 
adelphia. The others, John Hampton, an Irishman; Na- 
thaniel Taylor, probably an Englishman, and George 
Macnish, a Scotchman. At this time Archibald Stobo, a 
Scotchman, was pastor of a Presbyterian Church at 
Charleston, South Carolina. Four years after the forma- 
tion of the presbytery (1710) Macnish became the pas- 
tor of a Presbyterian church at Jamaica, Long Island, 
which put itself under the care of the presbytery of Phil- 
adelphia — the name assumed by that body. Macnisli soon 
became the stalwart leader of the Puritans and Presby- 
terians in the Province of New York, and by his Scotch 
pluck and perseverance triumphed over those who wished 
to trample upon the rights of the dissenters. 

Francis Makemie wrote in respect to the presbytery: 
"Our design is to meet yearly, and oftener if necessary, 
to consult the most proper means for advancing religion 
and propagating Christianity in our various stations." 
"The American Presbyterian Church began historically 
at the bottom, and only by degrees did it rise into the 
magnificent system which we now behold. It was not 
a reconstruction of an old papal system into a new Pres- 
byterian system, as in Scotland. It was a free and nat- 
ural growth in accordance with the preferences of the 
congregations themselves. American Presbyterianism was 
born and nurtured and reached its maturity in freedom. 
It developed naturally in acordance with the circum- 
stances of the country. * * * It was the external 
struggle against injustice and tyranny, and the internal 
struggle with narrowness, intolerance and bigotry, that 



94 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

made Presbyterianism in America the champion of civil 
and religious liberty." (Amer. Pres., pp. 131, 289.) 

The First Missionary Society. — An earnest and effect- 
ive effort was made on the part of the Presbyterians and 
Congregationalists in London and the vicinity to pro- 
mote the interests of the Protestant churches at home 
and abroad — meaning the American colonies. They 
formed an organization in 169 1, July 1, entitled "Heads 
of Department," in order to facilitate their work; they 
also established a fund by liberal contributions for two 
purposes : one to aid feeble congregations, the other to 
assist in training ministers to supply such churches. This 
is the first effort on record of the formation of a gospel 
missionary association and educational society. The 
movement "was designed to rally the Presbyterian and 
Independent churches of Great Britain and her colonies 
against prelacy and popery." The latter two were the 
inveterate and irrepressible antagonists of the doctrines 
and preaching of the ministers of the former. 

Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts. — 
The establishment of the association, "Heads of Depart- 
ment," no doubt suggested the formation of the "Society 
for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," and 
which was formed and chartered in London ten years 
later, in 1701. The latter was instituted in accordance 
with the desire and plan of Dr. Thomas Bray, who after 
the Church of England was by law established in Mary- 
land in 1692, was appointed by King William "Eccle- 
siastical Commissioner" for the American colonies. He 
devoted himself with untiring energy to make the Church 
of England supersede all others in America. This new 
society had the sanction of the archbishops, bishops and 
members of the nobility and leading clergy of England, 
many of whom became corporate members. Dr. Bray 
urged that the society should send no less than forty 



THE PRESBYTERY OF PHILADELPHIA (1706). 95 

Protestant missionaries (churchmen) to the American col- 
onies. To attain the supremacy in the latter, the society 
had the advantage of abundant funds, while its hopes of 
success were cherished by the persecuting principles in- 
volved in the rule of the English bishops. The former 
liberal spirit of the government of Maryland, now van- 
ished. Meanwhile the respective governors became the 
tools of the illiberal hierarchy in England. Against such 
odds in addition to the opposition of the civil and mili- 
tary authorities, the Presbyterians as well as other dis- 
senters had to contend, but in the end they triumphed. 
The exceptionally bad character of many of the clergy- 
men sent out by the Bishop of London, especially to 
Virginia and Maryland, neutralized nearly all the efforts 
of Dr. Bray by means of that society to propagate Epis- 
copacy. In truth, these men were recommended to the 
good Bishop of London by the civil authorities. John 
Talbot, an English churchman and chaplain in the navy, 
and who traveled in the colonies for two years in the 
interests of the society, in speaking of the situation, wrote : 
"We want a great many good ministers (Church of Eng- 
land) here in America, but we had better have none at 
all than such scandalous beasts as some make them- 
selves — not only the worst of ministers, but of men." {See 
p. 169.) Then he assigns as a reason that: "Those we 
have to deal with are a sharp and inquisitive people ; they 
are not satisfied with one doctor's opinion, but (we) must 
have something that is authentic, if we hope to prevail 
with them." {Gillet, I., p. 22.) 

Difficulties and Progress. — The formation of the pres- 
bytery appears to have given an impulse to the cause, es- 
pecialy in the middle colonies. Numerous difficulties 
had, however, to be overcome, the principal being the 
want of ministers and the means to support them, the 
church members were but ill-supplied with this world's 



96 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

goods, though they were benevolent to the best of their 
ability. In contrast with this was "the Society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." It was 
sending so many Church of England missionaries that 
within a few years all the Episcopal clergy in the colonies 
north of Virginia were sent out by that society. They 
were supplied with abundant funds; were encouraged by 
the home government and the influence of the chaplains 
and the English officers of the army and the navy who 
were on duty in the colonies. It was made a special point 
to resist New England influence, giving as a reason why 
the society should send missionaries lest " Presbyterian 
ministers from New England would swarm into these 
countries (Middle colonies) and prevent the increase of 
the church. " Thus wrote a beneficiary of the society. 

There was at this time remarkable harmony and char- 
ity among the ministers and the Presbyterian-Puritan 
Church members in respect to evangelical doctrines. They 
were Calvinists and received the Westminster Confes- 
sion as the embodiment of gospel truth. There were, no 
doubt, tacit differences of opinion in respect to the form 
of church government, but that non-essential dogma was 
relegated to the background. Each Presbyterian minis- 
ter and missionary was absorbed in preaching the gospel 
and in performing his pastoral duties, new churches were 
increasing faster than they could be supplied with preach- 
ers and pastors. In order to obtain the latter an extensive 
correspondence was kept up with the Presbyterians of 
England, Scotland and Ireland, and also with the promi- 
nent ministers of New England, who sympathized deeply 
with the churches in the Middle colonies. 

Notwithstanding these many difficulties there prevailed 
a quiet and continuous progress in the influence of the 
gospel. The churches increased in number, but were sep- 
arated more or less by distance. This condition made it 



THE PRESBYTERY OF PHILADELPHIA (1706). 97 

somewhat difficult for all the ministers to attend the reg- 
ular meetings of the presbytery, and at the end of about 
ten years from its formation it was deemed wise to di- 
vide it into three, that of Philadelphia, the original, New 
Castle and Snow Hill — afterward absorbed in that of New 
Castle. Some time afterward, through the influence of 
Macnish, then pastor at Jamaica, and the recommendation 
of presbytery, the Presbytery of Long Island was con- 
stituted — afterward named New York (1738). It may be 
remarked in this connection that all the ministers that 
served these churches were thoroughly educated men; 
they were graduates of either Scotch or English universi- 
ties, and had availed themselves of the best theological 
training of the times. 

The Introduction of the Eldership. — The successive 
meetings of presbytery led to the recognition of the 
lack of representation in it of the church members. In 
order that their rights might be represented the custom 
of sending an elder or lay commissioner with the pastor 
was introduced. At first the meeting of presbytery was 
composed of ministers alone, and they consulted in relation 
to the best interests of the cause of Christ. In 1710 for 
the first time we find recorded in the minutes that an 
elder sat in the presbytery as the representative of his 
church in the absence of the pastor. We have already 
noticed tha*t the rights and interests of the church mem- 
bers were recognized by the presbyteries in England. Ex- 
perience taught lessons, and in 1714, as it had hitherto 
been only advisory in its disciplinary action, the presby- 
tery took measures to have the records of the church ses- 
sions presented to it for revision. This was not an ab- 
solute demand, but was put in the form of a request, and 
the design was to preserve order and keep in constant 
touch with the churches. Numbers complied with the 
request, but others declined. The lack of compliance 



98 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

with this judicious request was owing, very probably, 
to the Congregational proclivities of a portion of the church 
members, who were in favor of the latter form of church 
government. With them the oversight proposed by the 
presbytery may have been looked upon as infringing the 
system of each individual church being independent of 
every other one. Those churches which adopted the eld- 
ership designed thereby to utilize their most competent 
men in the government of individual churches as well as 
to be their representatives in the judicial uses of the 
church. Presbytery previous to this time had not exer- 
cised discipline to much extent, if at all, beyond being ad- 
visory. They could pass an indirect censure only on a 
delinquent by striking his name from the roll of mem- 
bers. Time and experience afforded the necessity of its 
having more extensive authority in the line of discipline 
over the churches, and yet in compliance with the Amer- 
ican idea that it should be with the consent of the gov- 
erned. 



XIII. 

Persecutions and Trials. 

It is unfortunate that the history of the many perse- 
cutions and trials of the founders of the Presbyterian 
Church in the Middle colonies, especially in New York 
and Virginia, is so little known to the Presbyterian gen- 
eral reader. We can go only partially into detail in re- 
spect to these outrages, yet we will give an instance or 
two that may serve as specimens of the spirit that in- 
spired the bishops of the Church of England wherever it 
acquired power by being established in any of the colo- 
nies. In the motherland the Romanizing bishops at that 
time were the powers behind the throne in ecclesiastical 
affairs, and in the colonies where that church was estab- 
lished they indirectly stimulated the civil authorities to 
acts of tyranny toward those who were dissenters — a 
contemptuous term applied about this time to those who 
dissented from the assumptions of the Church of Eng- 
land. 

A Church and Parsonage Seized. — In the town of Ja- 
maica, Long Island, years before the Church of England 
was established in the colony, the inhabitants — Presby- 
terians — Puritans for the most part — voluntarily sub- 
scribed the funds and builded a church and a parsonage. 
In 1702 there were in the village of Jamaica more than 
one hundred and fifty families, mostly from New Eng- 
land. These people were characterized by a writer of the 
time as being "exemplary for all Christian knowledge and 
goodness." They had a pious and excellent minister, 
LofC. 



IOO A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Mr. John Hubbard, who, with his congregation, was dis- 
possessed of their church building (1705). This outrage 
was committed by order of the Governor of the colony, 
the "infamous Lord Cornbury," who, according to George 
Bancroft, "joined the worst form of arrogance to intellec- 
tual imbecility." Lord Cornbury, in the following man- 
ner, placed in charge of this church building John Bar- 
tow, a Church of England missionary. On a certain Sab- 
bath Mr. Hubbard preached in the forenoon, but before he 
arrived to conduct the usual services of the afternoon 
Bartow slipped into the church, and with a few to re- 
spond, began reading the litany. Presently Mr. Hubbard 
came; he did not interfere, but retired and announced to 
his congregation that he would preach under a tree in the 
neighboring orchard, which he did. Meanwhile Barton, 
having finished his reading, locked the door of the church 
and gave the key to the sheriff. The owners of the 
church applied for the key, but the sheriff refused to give 
it up. For this high-handed measure of demanding the 
key, and asserting their rights to their own property, 
Mr. Hubbard and the chief men of his congregation were 
summoned before Governor Cornbury in New York, who 
upbraided them, and forbade Hubbard preaching in the 
church. 

It happened that during this year an epidemic of sick- 
ness prevailed in the colony, and Cornbury asked Mr. 
Hubbard, in an apparently friendly manner, for the use 
of the parsonage as a hospital, as it was accidentally un- 
occupied. When the sickness disappeared, Cornbury re- 
fused to give back the parsonage, but issued a warrant 
without legal authority to the sheriff to dispossess Mr. 
Hubbard, and to give it to the Church of England min- 
ister whom the Governor had put in charge ; and the lat- 
ter, strange to say, under the circumstances, forthwith 
occupied the parsonage. In addition, the land belonging 



PERSECUTIONS AND TRIALS. IOI 

to the parsonage was also seized and divided into lots 
and sold for the benefit of the established church. The 
case of Makemie and that of the seizure of the Presby- 
terian church at Jamaica, L. L, are two of the outrages 
committed by Cornbury — they speak for themselves. He 
has been recently eulogized in a church history on the 
ground that "he was noted for his ardent churchmanship." 
Some eight years afterward (1710) Rev. George Mac- 
nish became a Presbyterian pastor in Jamaica. Lord 
Cornbury had disappeared, and another Governor — Rob- 
ert Hunter — was in his stead. Macnish entered at once 
upon a suit in the civil court to have the property restored 
to the rightful owners, and by his indefatigable exertions 
and Scotch pluck, he succeeded, in 1727, but only after a 
contest lasting a number of years. The righteousness of 
this decision was recognized by all except the Episcopal 
clergy, with the renegade Vesey — of whom more pres- 
ently — at their head ; the latter appealed to the Bishop of 
London. 

Bribery and Trickery. — A similar instance of such 
church charity occurred in New York itself. Governor 
Fletcher gave permission to build a church edifice by vol- 
untary contributions among the people at large. The 
funds were forthcoming, and the building was finished. 
It was the first of the edifices belonging to the present 
Trinity in New York City, thus afterward named. At 
that time there were scarcely any churchmen or their fam- 
ilies in the town, except the officers belonging to the army 
or the civil authorities, and the officers of the navy when 
occasionally in the harbor. It was understood and con- 
ceded that the new church building virtually belonged to 
the Presbyterian-Puritans, since nearly all the funds were 
contributed by them. In accordance with this view the 
Governor made no objection to the wardens or vestrymen 
inviting a Presbyterian minister to become the pastor. 



102 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

They called the Rev. William Vesey of Hempstead, Long 
Island, to become that pastor (1695). Vesey was a na- 
tive of Braintree, Massachusetts, a graduate of Harvard, 
and had been trained under the supervision of Increase 
Mather, with whom he was a favorite. Through the in- 
fluence of the latter, Vesey was sent to "strengthen the 
Puritans in New York." He became, therefore, the first 
pastor of this new church, thus erected almost entirely by 
the contributions of those who had no sympathy with the 
Church of England in its mode of government and forms 
of worship. There was at this time only one clergyman 
of the established church in New York — the chaplain in 
the fort. What we have seen Cornbury secure by tyranny 
and violence, we shall see Fletcher attain by virtual brib- 
ery and trickery. Let an address to the then Bishop of 
London, that was sent a few years afterward (1714) by 
Church of England men living then in the Province of 
New York, tell the story. It says: "He [Increase 
Mather] spared no pains and care to spread the wannest 
of Lis emissaries [Presbyterian-Puritan ministers] 
through this province, but Governor Fletcher, who saw in- 
to this design, took off Mr. Vesey by an invitation to this 
living and a promise to advance his stipend considerably, 
and to recommend him for holy orders to your Lordship's 
predecessor, all of which was performed accordingly, and 
Mr. Vesey returned from England in priest's orders." — 
(Am, Presbyterian, p. 14.7; Doc. Hist. N. Y. III., p. 438.) 
Vesey was ordained by the Bishop of London Aug. 2, 
1697. On his return he was, by an arbitrary order of the 
Governor, installed as rector of Trinity Church. This 
church building was owned, to all intents and purposes, by 
the Presbyterian congregation, who as such had called 
Vesey to become their pastor, but now a system of worship 
was instituted within it that the congregation did not rec- 
ognize as Scriptural. The Presbyterians were helpless; 



PERSECUTIONS AND TRIALS. 103 

this was the only church in the town where religious serv- 
ices were held in the English language. "Vesey was 
maintained by a tax levied on all the inhabitants of the 
city." 

Soon after his usurpation Vesey became a most viru- 
lent and unrelenting foe to his former associates and eccle- 
siastical friends. Under his leadership Trinity Church 
from this time forward took the front rank in its perse- 
cution of the dissenters, in every available form of petty 
annoyances too numerous to mention in this narrative. 
It has been urged as an apology that Vesey may have 
been influenced by the views of the moderate Presby- 
terians of England, who at that time, for the sake of 
peace, perhaps, preferred the Episcopal to the Congrega- 
tional mode of church government, and in accordance 
with that view he wished to combine in a single church 
organization the many Presbyterians with the compara- 
tively few Episcopalians. Had this been his motive, he 
would have been conciliatory in his policy, but instead 
he was extremely arrogant and hostile toward the Pres- 
byterians and the other dissenters, his former friends and 
patronizers. 

Rev. James Anderson, the first pastor of the First Pres- 
byterian Church in New York City, in a letter dated Dec. 
3, 1717, says in relation to Vesey: "One (minister) was 
called from New England, who, after he had preached 
some time here, having a prospect and a promise of more 
money than what he had among dissenters, went to Old 
England, took orders from the Bishop of London, and 
came back here as minister of the established Church of 
England. Here he yet is, has done, and still is doing 
what he can to ruin the dissenting interest." — {Am. Pres., 
pp., LXXVII-VIIL App.) 

Another Illustration. — Afterward the Presbyterians 
erected, about 17 19, a church in Wall Street, then as now 



104 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

known as the First Presbyterian Church. The vestry of 
Trinity induced the civil authorities to refuse them a char- 
ter or deed for the lot on which the church building was 
to stand. In consequence of this intolerant opposition, 
arrangements were made by which the charter and deed 
were vested in the General Assembly of the Church of 
Scotland, and the latter, when the persecuting power of 
the established church was annihilated by the War 
of Independence, transferred the charter and the deed to 
their legitimate owner — the First Presbyterian Church 
of New York City. 

A Law Misapplied. — In accordance with the views of 
the times, the Assembly of the Colony of New York in 
1693 passed an act that was similar in character to pre- 
vious ones for the purpose of supporting the gospel. 
"There can be no doubt that it was the intention of the 
Assembly to provide for the maintenance of the dissent- 
ing clergy. Such had been the manifest tendency of the 
previous legislation on the subject. All the members of 
the Assembly, but one, were dissenters, while the Church 
of England was hardly known in the Province." * * * 
'Tn fact it [the law] was arbitrarily and illegally wrested 
from its true bearing, and made to answer the purpose of 
the English Church party, which was a very small minor- 
ity of the people who were affected by the operation of 
the law."— (Dr. G. H. Moore, Hist. Mag., 1867, p. 328.) 
Says an authority : "There was no face of the Church of 
England here till about 1693." Some years later another 
writer stated that the number of the Church of England 
members in the population of the province was one in 
seven. The dissenters had at their own expense erected, 
as far as we know, every church edifice in the province. 

The obvious intention of the act of 1693 was wrested 
by Governor Fletcher, whom George Bancroft character- 
izes as "a covetous and passionate man," to apply only to 



PERSECUTIONS AND TRIALS. 105 

the clergy of the Church of England. To enforce this 
false interpretation against the Presbyterian-Puritan con- 
gregations of the province, the Governor often seized their 
church buildings and placed in them Episcopal clergy, 
under the plea that the latter belonged to the established 
church. "It was under this act [1693], and this inter- 
pretation of it, that Trinity Church was established in 
1697." (Hist, of Episcopal Church, p. 166.) The strug- 
gle and turmoil lasted for many years, even till the Revo- 
lution. We have given these historic facts as examples 
of the persecuting spirit which prevailed in that church 
in the colony of New York, while the case in that of Vir- 
ginia was even more outrageous. 

The hostility of the Church of England, especially to- 
ward the Presbyterians, as manifested by the civil authori- 
ties, continued long after their intrusion into the Trinity 
church building. This animosity does not appear openly 
against the Dutch Christians, but only toward the En- 
glish-speaking people who were dissenters. The Presby- 
terians, after enduring for some years these petty tyran- 
nies, retired from Trinity and met together and worshiped 
in private houses, until finally they erected a place of 
worship for themselves in Wall Street, as already noted. 
This inveterate hostility extended so far that traveling 
Presbyterian ministers, who happened to pass through 
the Province of New York, were liable to be arrested by 
the civil authorities if they dared to preach without a li- 
cense. The triumphant vindication of Makemie, in spite 
of the brutal opposition of Governor Cornbury, had not 
been forgotten; for obvious reasons the clergy of the 
established church feared the Presbyterian ministers, be- 
cause of their learning and their love for and promotion 
of genuine religious liberty. 

The ecclesiastics of the home church desired greatly to 
appoint bishops on American soil, but that project was 
9 



106 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

frustrated "by the united efforts of the Congregationalists 
and Presbyterians. This unrelenting persecution re- 
tarded the progress of the Presbyterians in those colonies 
wherein the Church of England was established. The 
fine scholarship and Christian zeal of their ministers, with 
the co-operation of intelligent and pious church members, 
at the end of many years of labor and toil triumphed 
grandly. 



XIV. 
The Formation of the Synod. 

The presbyteries had now grown to four from one, 
and had extended their jurisdiction over the churches 
scattered along the Atlantic coast from Eastern Long 
Island to Virginia. It was thought expedient to consti- 
tute a synod, in order to unite all these churches and pres- 
byteries in closer bonds of fellowship, and thus promote 
the cause of Christ under the form of American Presby- 
terianism. The synod thus constituted was named Phila- 
delphia, and was composed of four presbyteries — Phila- 
delphia, New Castle, Snowhill, and Long Island, after- 
ward New York. 

Missionary Funds. — Almost the first act of the newly 
created synod was to take measures to establish a "fund 
for pious uses" (1717). This was in answer to the cry 
for ministers that was coming up from congregations re- 
cently founded. The creation of this fund was the orig- 
inal of all the schemes to supply the means for carrying 
on the home missionary enterprises in the American Pres- 
byterian Church that have grown to such large propor- 
tions in our time, and are pressing on to still greater tri- 
umphs. This fund was afterward substantially increased 
by contributions of the benevolent in the Presbyterian 
Churches in Scotland and in England. Collections were 
made in those churches, and the amount secured was, in 
the aggregate, £3,652 10s. It was thought expedient to 
invest a portion of this amount in merchandise or goods, 
which were brought to the colonies and sold at a good 



108 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

profit. In the same line the kindly disposed merchants 
made donations in goods. It is stated that "The mer- 
chants were at great pains and did great service in the 
matter, and were so generous as to transmit the goods free 
of freight" (1719). 

Fraternal Intercourse. — The traditions of the Presby- 
terian Church are, and always have been, in favor of much 
and genuine fraternal intercourse among its members. 
One of the means which it has used in accomplishing this 
grand result is in having frequent meetings of its church 
judicatures; more than usual in number, when compared 
with those of other denominations. The meeting to- 
gether so often has had, among other desirable effects, 
that of eliciting sympathy between the members of the 
different churches in the various sections of the country, 
and thus promoting a Christianized sentiment of brotherly 
love. Accordingly, as the number of the churches in- 
creased and were scattered in the land, new presbyteries 
were organized, and as the members desired still more 
intercourse with one another, since they met only with 
brethren of their respective presbyteries, they formed a 
synod which should' bear a similar relationship to the 
presbyteries as that of the latter to the churches. The 
synod was also constituted in the same ratio as the pres- 
bytery — each minister was accompanied by an elder from 
the church or churches of which he was pastor; in this 
manner were the rights of the members of the church rec- 
ognized and respected. All the ministers belonging to 
the synod were required to meet in session once in each 
year. This mode of government prevailed for about 
seventy years; that is, from 1717 to 1788, when the Gen- 
eral Assembly was organized — the latter being a repre- 
sentative body, but drawing its delegates not from the 
synods but directly from the presbyteries, they being 
nearer the people or church members. 




Rev. John McMillan, D. D. 

(i33. 2 33, 258, 282, 324.) 



THE FORMATION OF THE SYNOD. 1 09 

For a number of years after the formation of the first 
synod, the increase of the churches was great, and they 
were much extended along the Atlantic slope, south of 
Connecticut, while the number of the presbyteries also 
increased in proportion. It was found that, owing to the 
distances and difficulties of travel, a great many minis- 
ters and elders were unable to attend regularly all the 
meetings of the synod. To obviate this inconvenience it 
was decided (1724) to make the synod a sort of repre- 
sentative body — that was done by the presbyteries send- 
ing half their number of members in alternate years. It 
was also arranged that every third year there should be 
a full attendance of all the members. 

The Test and Schism Acts. — After the formation of the 
synod the progress of the church was much more rapid ; 
numbers of Presbyterians migrated to the colony of New 
Jersey from New England and New York, and with them 
came many able and learned men from the British Isles. 
Scotch-Irish Presbyterians came in great numbers from 
the north of Ireland; it is estimated in all more than 
twenty thousand in the course of a few years. By what 
was called the i( Test Act," Presbyterians in Ireland were 
excluded "from all public offices, honors and employ- 
ments." The animating spirit of these intolerant laws 
may be inferred from the fact that "The bishops intro- 
duced clauses into their leases forbidding the erection of 
meeting-houses [for Dissenters] on any part of their es- 
tates, and induced many landlords to follow their exam- 
ple." Another law, evidently the outgrowth of the same 
influence, was passed in 1714, which was called the 
"Schism Act," its design being to blot out the Presby- 
terian Church in Ireland. It was estimated that four- 
fifths of the Protestant inhabitants of the province of 
Ulster at that time were Presbyterians. This did not 
prevent outrages of a revolting character being inflicted 



IIO A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

upon them, when their prominent men were "summoned 
before the courts on the charge of living in fornication 
with their own wives, because they had not been married 
with a ring by an Episcopal rector." (Church Hist. 
Series, Vol. VI., p. 54.) 

Froude, in his History of Ireland (pp. 11 , 131, 143) 
says of the Presbyterians : "Vexed with suits in the ec- 
clesiastical courts, forbidden to educate their children in 
their own faith, treated as dangerous in a state which but 
for them would have had no existence, the most earnest 
of them at length abandoned the unthankful service. ' If 
they intended to live as freemen, speaking no lies, and 
professing openly the creed of the Reformation, they must 
seek a country where the long arm of prelacy was still too 
short to reach them. But for Anglican bishops there 
would have been no Puritan exiles." 

Under these circumstances that isle lost thousands upon 
thousands of its more intelligent citizens, with their fam- 
ilies and their pastors. Here commenced a great emigra- 
tion of Protestants, especially from the northern portion 
of that island, to America, which continued for forty 
years, and by which the Presbyterian Church, especially 
in the Middle colonies, was greatly enlarged and strength- 
ened. 

The leading Irish Presbyterians, in an address to the 
new Lord Lieutenant, Duke of Shrewsbury (1713), an- 
nounced that they had thoughts of transplanting them- 
selves into America, saying "that we may there in the 
wilderness enjoy, by the blessing of God, that ease and 
quiet of our consciences, persons and families which is 
denied us in our native country." (Am. Pres., p. 185.) 

William Tennent. — Numbers of these prominent but 
virtually exiled ministers came to New England, but it 
appears that the majority of them sought their homes in 
New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The grandest accession 



THE FORMATION OF THE SYNOD. Ill 

to Presbyterianism from the Episcopal Church was when 
William Tennent in 1716 came from that church in Ire- 
land and connected himself with the synod of Philadel- 
phia. He was a native of Ireland, of English-Irish de- 
scent, and a graduate of the University of Edinburgh 
(1695). He gave his reasons in full to the synod why 
he made the change. Tennent settled first in Westchester 
County, New York, preaching for eight years "with won- 
drous zeal in the towns of the county." 

The First Log College. — At this period, with but few 
exceptions of graduates of Yale and Harvard, the min- 
isters of the Presbyterian Church were foreigners. This 
fact suggested to Tennent the importance of the church 
training for its service some o>f the native youth. About 
1727 Tennent removed from Bedford, New York, to 
Neshaminy, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and there he 
commenced to teach young men the classics and theology 
in a cabin builded of logs cut from the primitive forest — 
hence the name Log College, and which has become fa- 
mous as the forerunner of a number of Presbyterian col- 
leges in the Union. "Tennent had the rare gift of at- 
tracting to himself youth of worth and genius, imbuing 
them with his healthful spirit, and sending them forth 
sound in the faith, blameless in life, burning with zeal, and 
unsurpassed as instructive, impressive, and successful 
preachers." {Webster, p. 367.) 

The enterprise, having no ecclesiastical connection, was 
entirely private in its character, but its design was to sup- 
ply the wants of the colonists in respect to a biblically 
trained ministery. This was the first Presbyterian theo- 
logical school in America. These young men found in 
Mr. Tennent a teacher thoroughly instructed in the the- 
ological and classical studies of the times, and, in addi- 
tion, one who was imbued with an ardent piety that found 
vent in preaching a gospel drawn directly from the truths 



112 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

of the word of God itself. This mode of preaching was 
followed by his pupils, and was adapted to the spiritual 
wants of those who heard them. The latter were well- 
to-do, honest and industrious, almost every head of a 
family owning his farm or plot of ground on which stood 
his home. These young ministers were taught to be prac- 
tical; they could preach from a well-arranged pulpit, in 
a private dwelling, in a school-house, or under the shade 
of the trees. This school furnished the best education 
outside of Yale and Harvard, in New England, and of 
William and Mary in Virginia. Says one in speaking of 
Mr. Tennent's students: "They were didactic, exhort- 
ory, plain, impassioned, often vehement; they used the 
strong doctrines of the Scriptures as facts for illustration 
or weapons to subdue the heart; they were fearless of 
man in the cause of God/' 

Guarding the Faith. — During the first quarter of the 
eighteenth century the Presbyterian Church in the British 
Isles was greatly agitated in respect to diversities of opin- 
ion among its younger ministers on certain theological 
questions. This could be affirmed especially of the 
churches of Scotland and Ireland; notably in the former 
was the case of Dr. John Simson, professor of Divinity in 
the University of Glasgow, who had been, also, the the- 
ological instructor of numbers of the Irish Presbyterian 
ministry. Professor Simson was brought to trial and 
charged with teaching Socinianism and Arminianism. 
He disclaimed the charge, and stated that "he was en- 
deavoring to meet the semi-Arianism of the time by bet- 
ter statements of the orthodox doctrines." His explana- 
tion appears to have had influence in his trial, for the Gen- 
eral Assembly sustained him, and so did the liberal party 
in the church, both in England and Ireland. There is no 
doubt, however, that numbers of the students under his 



THE FORMATION OF THE SYNOD. 113 

care were in sympathy with the doctrinal views which 
Professor Simson endeavored to refute. 

Meanwhile, rumors of these deviations from the Con- 
fession of Faith had reached the Presbyterian ministers 
in the Middle colonies, and they, certainly, had reasons for 
their anxiety on the subject. In consequence the church 
was much agitated during a portion of the existence of 
the first synod (1717-1729). The occasion of this ex- 
citement did not originate within the synod itself, but 
abroad, where a laxity in respect to evangelical doctrines 
had prevailed to a large extent among the ministers of the 
Presbyterian Churches in Scotland and Ireland. Some 
of these held "Arminian and Pelagian errors," and it was 
known that a number of ministers holding these views had 
already migrated to the colonies, and others were about 
to follow ; the latter in all probability would wish to unite 
in this country with the same church. It therefore be- 
came a question as to the most efficient mode of guarding 
against the intrusion into the churches of ministers hold- 
ing these objectionable views. After the subject had 
been under discussion in various forms for some years — 
because at first the members were far from being unani- 
mous as to the best means of warding off the impending 
evil — the synod finally united upon a plan, which was as 
follows: "We do, therefore, agree that all the ministers 
of this synod, or that shall hereafter be admitted into this 
synod, shall declare their agreement in, and approbation 
of, the Confession of Faith, with the Larger and Shorter 
Catechisms of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, 
as being in all the essential and necessary articles good 
forms of sound words and systems of Christian doctrine, 
and do also adopt the said Confession and Catechisms as 
the Confession of our Faith." (Gillett, vol. i., p. 55.) 
This was the " Adopting Act" of 1729. The presbyteries 



114 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

were also enjoined to require their licentiates to subscribe 
the same Confession, etc. 

The Effects of the Adopting Act. — This Adopting Act 
was far-reaching and conciliatory in its influence. It was 
a compromise between the parties which demanded a sort 
of cast-iron subscription to every word or form of ex- 
pression in the Confession of Faith instead of the liberal 
view as expressed in the phrase, "the essential and neces- 
sary articles." The latter has been characterized as the 
pivot of the history of the Presbyterian Church in the 
United States. 

"By the Adopting Act American Presbyterianism 
steered safely through the troubled waters that split the 
Irish and English Presbyterians into two irreconcilable 
parties. * * * It was designed to adapt the best Pres- 
byterian models to American soil, and not strive to force 
Scotch, Irish, Welsh, or English types of Presbyterian- 
ism upon the country." (Am. Pres , p. 221.) 

"By these cautious enactments" — The Adopting Act, 
etc. — "American Presbyterianism was saved from the 
danger of lapsing into Congregationalism, and at the same 
time secured a flexibility of development very necessary 
in a new country, without sacrificing its historic connec- 
tion with the Presbyterianism of Britain." (Presbyterian 
Churches — Their Power in Modern Christendom. By 
Dr. J. N. Ogilvie, p. 104. Edition of 1896.) 

Liberal and Strict Subscription. — It was very unfor- 
tunate for the peace and the spiritual advancement of the 
church that the Adopting Act was not cordially acquiesced 
in at once by all parties. Within a few years after the 
Act (1729) became a rule in the church, certain members 
of the Presbytery of New Castle virtually disregarded the 
liberal principles of that act in its requiring the Westmin- 
ster Confession to be received by ministers and candidates 
for the ministry, "as being in all the essential and neces- 



THE FORMATION OF THE SYNOD. 115 

sary articles good forms of sound works and systems of 
Christian doctrine." Instead of this judicious view of 
the subject, the Presbyteries of New Castle and Done- 
gal — an offshoot of the latter — introduced an irritating 
rule or order, by requiring of their members and candi- 
dates in respect to the Confession, "a strict interpretation 
and verbal subscription." That is, every phrase or ex- 
pression in the Confession must be adopted word for 
word. This requisition virtually demanded for a human 
and fallible compilation of religious doctrine the same al- 
legiance that ought to be given to the inspired word of 
God. 

The prime mover and persistent advocate of this meas- 
ure was Rev. John Thomson, a Scotchman, who is charac- 
terized as "a narrow and opinionated man, who became the 
father of discord and mischief in the American Presby- 
terian Church." Through his influence his presbytery 
acted in "defiance of Presbyterian law and practice." 
Against this "strict subscription" Jonathan Dickinson 
protested that "it might shut the door of the church com- 
munion against many serious and excellent servants of 
Christ who conscientiously scruple it, yet it is never like 
to detect hypocrites nor keep concealed heretics out of the 
church." Such, indeed, had recently been the experi- 
ence of the synod of Philadelphia. The latter had re- 
ceived Rev. Samuel Hemphill, who came with credentials 
from a presbytery in Ireland, and who had in the presence 
of the synod subscribed to the Westminster Confession, 
and that without scruple. Yet he was found to be un- 
sound in his belief and unprincipled in action, a preacher 
of other men's sermons — in fine, a heretic and a hypocrite. 
For a time he completely deceived the synod ; at length he 
was brought to trial and dismissed the ministry. 

The agitation in respect to "strict subscription" — 
though the principles of the Adopting Act finally pre- 



Il6 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

vailed' — disturbed the harmony of the church for many 
years and retarded very much its spiritual progress. 
This is not the only instance in the history of the Presby- 
terian Church wherein a few "opinionated" men, who 
were confident they were right, when their peers thought 
differently, have injured the cause of religion. 

"Strict subscription" became, also, a question among 
the Presbyterian ministers and elders in South Carolina. 
One portion, while strongly in favor of the right of pri- 
vate judgment, was equally as strenuous in not imposing 
their own interpretations upon their brethren; to do 
which, they deemed a wrong. The other portion were 
deeply and justly alarmed at the rumors concerning the 
progress that certain errors were making in the ranks of the 
Presbyterian ministers in the British Isles. No doubt many 
of these errorists would come to the colonies and the min- 
isters of foreign birth, especially, were in favor of guard- 
ing the truth by requiring r7 strict subscription" to the Con- 
fession of Faith. The outcome of the agitation was a 
division ; the ministers from New England separated and 
labored apart from those from Scotland and Ireland. In 
time the various apprehensions were removed and har- 
mony prevailed once more. 

Presbyterians in Maine. — About 171 5 or '16 Rev. James 
MacGregorie migrated from Ireland, and with his flock 
settled at Londonderry, New Hampshire, while another 
Presbyterian company afterward formed a settlement on 
Casco Bay, Maine. These Presbyterians became so nu- 
merous that in 1729 the Presbytery of Londonderry was 
constituted. The Rev. Le Mercier, the pastor of the Hu- 
guenot Church in Boston, connected himself with this 
presbytery. In 1730 Samuel Rutherford arrived with his 
flock from Ireland, which also found homes in Maine. To 
these Presbyterian colonists, others were joined in the 
course of years. All these ministers appear to have been 



THE FORMATION OF THE SYNOD. 117 

true adherents of the Westminster Confession and Cate- 
chisms. 

The Transfer of the Log College. — The young minis- 
ters from the Log College continued to be zealous in their 
missionary labors, and were rewarded by a remarkable 
and extensive revival, whose influence was felt for a 
number of years. The institution was thus of immense 
service to the cause of Christ in training a large number 
of godly and efficient ministers, though it did not fill all 
the requirements that were involved in a college fully 
adapted to the needs of the American Presbyterian Church. 

Mr. William Tennent, Sr., died in 1746, and left no 
one competent to take his place. This was made the oc- 
casion of transforming the primitive Log College into a 
more extensive and imposing institution of learning. 
Through the efforts of Rev, Jonathan Dickinson, a charter 
(1747) was obtained for a college from Governor Hamil- 
ton of New Jersey. Trustees were elected, and Dickin- 
son was chosen President. The Log College in spirit was 
transferred from Neshaminy to the President's house in 
Elizabethtown. It was a great loss to the college that 
Dickinson died in the first year of his presidency. "No 
better man could have been found to lay the foundation of 
Presbyterian higher education in America. He was head 
and shoulders above his brethren in the ministry in intel- 
lectual and moral endowments — the recognized leader in 
all the crises of the church." {Am. Pres., p. 306.) He 
was a native of Massachusetts and a graduate of Yale 
(1706) College. Three years later he became pastor at 
Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and by his commanding tal- 
ents and conservative spirit he became the great repre- 
sentative of American Presbyterianism of the Colonial 
period, the symbol of all that was noble and generous in 
the Presbyterian Church." In the midst of the doctrinal 
discussions that arose within the church he wrote numer- 



Il8 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ous pamphlets and published sermons. His "Five Points 
of Calvinism" had great influence at the time. The con- 
tents of the essay were: Eternal Election, Original Sin, 
Grace in Conversion, Justification by Faith, Saints' Perse- 
verance. 

The Rev. Aaron Burr was chosen to succeed Dickin- 
son, and the following year the college, under a new char- 
ter from Governor Belcher — an ardent friend of the in- 
stitution — was removed to Newark. This college was 
designed to be pre-eminently a center of education for the 
Middle colonies. The design was to establish a college 
where "Those of every religious denomination may 
have free and equal liberty and advantage of education, 
any different sentiments in religion notwithstanding." 
The treatment which the sainted David Brainerd received 
from the faculty of Yale, and, in addition, the latter's un- 
concealed hostility to the revival of religion under Jona- 
than Edwards and his compeers, justly alienated the once 
good will of the revivalists among the ministers of the 
New Side. 

Princeton College. — The infant college now appealed 
for aid to the Presbyterians of Scotland, England and Ire- 
land. For this purpose the Synod of New York sent as 
their agents Rev. Samuel Davies and Gilbert Tennent. 
They secured more than four thousand pounds. Thus 
"the Presbyterians of Great Britain showed their sympa- 
thy with the broad and tolerant Presbyterians of the synod 
of New York, rather than the narrow and intolerant Pres- 
byterians of the synod of Philadelphia. * * * The 
mother of American Presbyterian colleges was planted on 
the basis of the pledges of Samuel Davies and Gilbert 
Tennent as to the terms of subscription in accordance with 
the original Adopting Act (1729). The college was 
therefore pledged and consecrated to a broad, generous 
and liberal Presbyterianism." {Am. Pres., p. 309.) 



THE FORMATION OF THE SYNOD. II9 

The institution, under the name of the College of New 
Jersey, was removed to Princeton in 1755. The citizens 
of the town, having r 'given 200 acres of woodland and 
ten acres of cleared land." A college building — named 
Nassau Hall — the gift of other benefactors — was erected, 
and which for some years was the largest college struc- 
ture in the United States. The first class, numbering six, 
was graduated in 1755. Princeton claims that twenty -five 
colleges in the Union indirectly owe their existence to the 
exertions of her graduates. 

The Educational Fund. — About this time a fund of 
£357 4s. 6d. was given to aid young men in the College of 
New Jersey who were studying for the ministry. This 
fund became the nucleus of what has since grown to be 
the great system of scholarships now existing in Presby- 
terian colleges and theological seminaries. Associations 
of this kind and the contributions they give to the object 
clearly evidence the interest that Presbyterian Church 
members — male and female — have in an educated minis- 
try for their church. 

Princeton College never received aid from the State; 
it has always been supported by the contributions of 
Christian liberality. 

The Leading Points of Influence. — We cannot in this 
concise history go into detail as to the names of the many 
ministers who came from Scotland, Ireland and England, 
nor locate the numerous churches and congregations 
which they served. We give the leading points of in- 
fluence, in order that the reader may have a conception of 
the great religious movement in the middle colonies that 
was attended with such grand results. All these minis- 
ters from abroad were educated me a and impressed their 
influence upon the communities wherein they labored. 

It is to be noted, however, that the theologians of that 
day confined themselves almost exclusively to the study 



120 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

of the Bible in the original tongues, as well as in the Eng- 
lish version. We recognize as correct their clear inter- 
pretation of that sacred book in all that pertains to the 
way of salvation. They received very little aid from the 
commentaries of men specially learned in the exposition 
of the sacred volume, which in our day has thrown on 
the subject so much light, and which has been derived 
from so many and diverse sources. They studied the 
book itself, collating passage with passage, thus making 
the inspired word its own interpreter on the great themes 
of Christian belief. Their scholarship, in consequence, 
was not broad and diverse, as that of the theologians of 
our day while the people to whom they preached were 
on a corresponding low plane of general intelligence: — 
thus the preachers and people were suited to one another. 
These theologians, as a rule, were well versed in sacred 
knowledge derived from the Bible itself, and in the Latin 
and Greek classics — but of science how little they knew ! 
The sciences were then in their infancy — and the most ad- 
vanced classes in the colleges were far inferior in scien- 
tific scholarship to the young men and women of to-day 
in our high schools and academies. 



CHAPTER XV. 
Origin of Presbyterianism in Virginia. 

In our narrative, though somewhat out of the order 
of time, we will now tell the story of the origin of 
Presbyterianism in Hanover County, Virginia. In a 
rural district in that county some fifty or sixty miles 
from Williamsburg, then the seat of government of the 
colony, originated a movement that resulted in estab- 
lishing Presbyterianism independently of outside influ- 
ence. 

The inhabitants of this isolated neighborhood were 
of English ancestry, and no doubt had an idea of 
"Englishmen's rights." " They were of true English 
descent, and in connection with the established 
church. . . . None of the Scotch-Irish had emigrated 
to Hanover, and these people were descended from 
members of the English Church" (Foote's "Sketches 
of Virginia," pp. 120, 123). "Traces of the Scotch- 
Irish were found in Virginia in the latter part of the 
seventeenth century." Five counties are named in 
which these traces were found, but Hanover is not thus 
mentioned. " The first migration from Ulster (Ireland) 
to Pennsylvania was from 1717 to 1750." "The great 
migration of Scotch- Irish landed at New Castle and 
made their way northward or westward " (" The Scotch- 
Irish," vol. i. , p. 119; vol. ii., p. 179). 

The colonists in Hanover County were ministered to 
by the clergy of the established church; its incum- 
bents, with few exceptions, were not of a high order 
10 



122 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

of scholarship or of piety (see pp. 168-169). Four 
gentlemen, heads of families, of the more intelligent 
among the people became dissatisfied with what was 
preached by the incumbent of their parish church. 
This movement is supposed to have commenced about 
1720, and though unknown to the outside world it con- 
tinued for many years, a Mr. Samuel Morris becoming 
almost unconsciously the leader in the cause. These 
parishioners believed that their incumbent did not 
preach the Gospel according to the principles laid down 
in their Bibles, and they thought it more edifying for 
them not to attend the parish church on the Sabbath, 
but remain at home and read the Scriptures and other 
religious books with their families. In this matter 
they were conscientious ; but it is remarkable that they 
did not act in concert, though each individual had come 
to the same conclusion as to his duty under the circum- 
stances. They only learned the views of one another 
when they were arraigned before the civil magistrate 
and fined for not attending the parish church. After 
they had learned the opinions of one another, they held 
a conference and agreed, instead of going to the parish 
church, to meet alternately at each other's houses, and 
with their families spend the usual time of the church 
service in reading the Scriptures and in prayer. One 
of the party had Martin Luther's commentary on the 
epistle to the Galatians ; this they read also. Another 
gentleman had met with a few leaves of " Boston's 
Fourfold State," and being struck by the sentiments 
therein expressed, sent to England for the book. 
This was also read. To these books was added a copy 
of George Whitefield's sermons. They had heard of 
his preaching in Williamsburg. 

Morris' Reading- House. — The work went on for 
years, and the meetings soon became crowded, because 



ORIGIN OF PRESBYTERIANISM IN VIRGINIA. 1 23 

of the interest taken by the people in the subject, since 
they found the doctrines in the books that were read to 
be in accordance with the Scriptures, the spirit of the 
Gospel and the experience of Christians. The multi- 
tudes, and often from quite a distance, attending their 
meetings became so great that no private house could 
contain them, and necessity demanded the building of 
a "meeting-house." This was known as Morris' 
Reading- House; the same name was applied to the 
others afterward erected. These people had virtually 
separated from the establishment. It was in every 
sense a spontaneous movement, which had its origin in 
the plain inconsistency with Bible truths and with the 
spirit of the Gospel, of the lives and characters and 
the preaching of the clergy, who were the incumbents 
in the various parishes. 

They did not assume a name; they organized no 
church; no dissenting minister had visited them; of 
such they appear to have had no special knowledge. 
They were isolated from the rest of the colony, and 
must have arrived at their opinions on religious truths 
from simply reading the word of God and books that 
explained that word. 

Persecutions and Annoyances. — Meantime they were 
continually harassed by the colonial authorities, who 
as usual were instigated by the clergy. The latter 
were greatly scandalized that a rebuke to their way of 
preaching and manner of living should spring up spon- 
taneously among their own parishioners, and they and 
illiberal laymen in the vestries determined to put down 
the movement by a series of persecutions and petty 
annoyances. But those poor Bible readers were loyal 
to their government and to their own consciences, 
and they promptly paid from week to week the 
fines imposed upon them for not attending the par- 



124 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ish church and quietly went on with their reading 
and praying. 

Their being called upon so often to explain to the 
magistrates of the county why they did not attend the 
parish church, and in consequence were fined, attracted 
the attention of the governor and council at Williams- 
burg. The latter had the supreme control of the rela- 
tions between the dissenters and the established 
church. The prominent leaders in this innovation 
were therefore required to appear before the governor 
and Council and defend themselves in respect to the 
charges that were preferred against them by the clergy 
and the civil authorities of the county, and also, in ac- 
cordance with the Toleration Act, to state by what 
name they were to be designated. In respect to the 
latter requirement, they were very much at a loss what 
to do. They knew of the Quakers, but had not suffi- 
cient sympathy with them to take their name ; they had 
learned of Luther from his commentary, and they 
thought they might be Lutherans — of Presbyterians 
they had not even heard. 

The Name Presbyterian. — Those who were summoned 
— as noted above — set out from their homes to meet on 
a certain day the governor and council and defend 
themselves as best they could. On the way one of the 
number lodged for the night at a farmhouse, and was 
detained there the following day because of a severe 
rain-storm. He took from a shelf a book that appeared 
to have been little used, and its title page was lost. 
He commenced to read, and to his astonishment found 
therein his views of the Gospel better expressed than 
he could himself, and in addition there were the texts 
of Scripture on which these truths were based. He 
had never before seen or heard of that book, and he 
wished to purchase it, but the owner presented it to 



ORIGIN OF PRESBYTERIANISM IN VIRGINIA. 1 25 

him. When the delegation met in Williamsburg, they 
conferred together over the book, and all agreed that 
it expressed their religious views. When they came 
before the lieutenant-governor, Sir William Gooch, 
he made inquiry as to their religious views, and also as 
to the name of their sect. Handing him the book, they 
made answer that it contained their religious views. 
The governor examined it, and being a Scotchman by 
descent, he at once recognized it as the Confession of 
Faith of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and he 
exclaimed "Why, you are Presbyterians!" They 
accepted the name. The governor appears to have 
been much impressed by the earnestness and candor of 
the men, and he " dismissed them with a gentle caution 
not to excite any disturbance in his majesty's colony, 
nor by irregularities disturb the good order of society 
in their parish." 

Further Annoyances. — They were not, however, per- 
mitted to pursue their way unmolested, as some time 
afterward accusations of disorderly conduct were 
brought against Mr. Morris and some of his friends in 
Hanover County, inasmuch as they did not attend the 
parish church, though they regularly paid the fines im- 
posed upon them. This fact by no means conciliated 
the clergy and the illiberal churchmen, who wished to 
inflict a severer punishment. The charges were so 
pressed by these parties that they induced the king's 
attorney to have the persons thus accused indicted by 
the grand jury. In consequence, the latter were forced 
at great expense of time and money to attend the civil 
court at Williamsburg, some forty or sixty miles dis- 
tant. After much delay and inconvenience to the ac- 
cused the charges were proved to be utterly false, and 
the men were acquitted by the jury. They were, not- 
withstanding this fact, most unjustly compelled by the 



126 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

court to pay the costs of the prosecution, as was the 
case in the trial of Rev. Francis Makemie in New York 

(p. 86). 

In about a half-century later we find the Presbyteri- 
ans of Hanover County looming 1 in a remarkable man- 
ner as intelligent and stanch advocates for civil and 
religious liberty. 



XVI. 

The Log Colleges. 

There is no characteristic of the Presbyterian Church 
more pronounced than its uniform and ardent zeal in be- 
half of an educated ministry. We therefore think it 
proper, though anticipating a few events, to devote one 
chapter to its earlier efforts in that direction — see, also, 
page in for an account of the first Log College. The 
above fact has always been recognized by the church 
members and their pastors, while the former, by the faith- 
ful labors of the latter, have been placed on so high a 
plane of Scriptural knowledge that they demand preach- 
ers who are competent to teach. Pious Presbyterian par- 
ents during successive generations have been familiar with 
the contents of the Bible itself, and the Westminster Con- 
fession and the Catechism and the proof-texts on which 
the doctrines contained therein are based. In these 
truths, with the aid of their pastors, they trained their 
children; meanwhile carefully observing and sanctifying 
the Sabbath. In this manner a knowledge of the essential 
doctrines of the Christian system had become interwoven 
with the religious consciousness of their children, who in 
turn taught their own, and thus the work went on. This 
mode of instructing the youth of Christian parents was a 
custom among the Puritans, whether Congregationalist or 
Presbyterian. Church members thus trained are quick to 
discern in a preacher his spirituality and his adherence 
to the sacred truths with which they themselves are 
familiar. 



£28 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The Bible Studied as a Whole. — One effective stimu- 
lant to the acquisition of biblical knowledge is found in 
taking the Bible in all its parts, since this mode of in- 
struction gives clearer views of the symmetry of the 
truths of the word of God than can possibly be obtained 
by studying the Scriptures in isolated portions for cer- 
tain days in the year, as in prayer-books or litanies. The 
latter mode must have a cramping effect upon the progress 
of religious and biblical knowledge among the private 
members of the church. 

The Two Academies. — The Presbytery of Hanover, 
amid its conflict in relation to the separation of Church 
and State in Virginia, recognized the necessity of founding 
schools to educate young men for the ministry. The 
College of William and Mary at Williamsburg was under 
the control of the established church. That of itself was 
an objection, but a still greater one was in the prevalence 
in the college of deistical influences. Two academies 
were projected by the presbytery; one was located in 
Prince Edward County, the other in the valley. The for- 
mer became Hampden-Sidney College. 

Over Hampden-Sidney College Dr. Samuel Stanhope 
Smith presided for a number of years, till called (1798) 
to the higher position as President of Princeton. He was 
one of the remarkable men of the period. A Pennsyl- 
vanian by birth, the son of Dr. Robert Smith of Pequa, 
Lancaster County; his mother, a remarkably talented 
woman, a sister of the two Blairs, Samuel and John — 
both famous teachers and preachers in the Presbyterian 
Church of that day. He graduated from Princeton with 
high honor, was for a time assistant teacher for his father, 
then tutor in Princeton. Meantime he studied theology 
and was licensed to preach (1773) by the Presbytery of 
New Castle. As a preacher he reminded the people of 
the eloquent Samuel Davies, whose fame was not limited 



THE LOG COLLEGES. 1 29 

to Virginia. Among the trustees of Hampden-Sidney 
were Patrick Henry and James Madison. 

In 1749 Hanover Presbytery established also Augusta 
Academy in what is now Rockbridge County. This 
school was placed under the care of Rev. William Gra- 
ham. The latter was a graduate of Princeton (1775), a 
son of a Pennsylvania farmer, in his youth inured to the 
dangers and hardships of frontier life ; a bright intellect, 
he managed to secure a superior education, which he con- 
secrated to the cause of learning and religion. Under 
Dr. Graham in this institution was trained Rev. Dr. Archi- 
bald Alexander, afterwards so long Professor of Theol- 
ogy in Princeton Seminary. The Revolutionary War, 
of course, interfered with the academy; its name was 
changed to Liberty Hall in 1776; and it was chartered 
as a college (1782) under that significant name. After- 
ward George Washington endowed it, for the times, with 
a large amount, and in gratitude the trustees changed the 
name to Washington (1812) — it is now known as Wash- 
ington and Lee University. The last name was adopted 
in 1871. 

Theology Taught Separately. — Dr. Graham resigned 
the Presidency but turned his attention specially to giving 
instruction in theology to a number of students. The 
synod of Virginia, recognizing the importance of the 
movement, and, no doubt, influenced by the Presbytery 
of Hanover, which, in its contest with the intolerant civil 
authorities of Virginia, had been trained to have far- 
reaching views, added a theological department to Liberty 
Hall. This was the first theological seminary in the 
United States established in connection with a college. 
This department was opened for the reception of students 
in 1794; two years afterward Professor Graham resigned. 
The loss was so serious that the seminary languished and 
finally passed out of existence. 



130 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The Private Classical Schools. — The Log College of 
Mr. Tennent {see p. 111) was imitated in its plan of study 
by other private schools. Rev. Samuel Finley, after- 
ward President of Princeton College, established a noted 
one at Nottingham, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Here 
were educated, besides a number of ministers, Governor 
Martin of North Carolina, Dr. Benjamin Rush, a cele- 
brated physician of the times, Governor Henry of Mary- 
land. Among the clergymen were Rev. Drs. Alexander 
McWhorter and James Waddel. The blind preacher 
graphically described by William Wirt. The Rev. Sam- 
uel Blair, also, founded a classical and theological school 
at Fagg's Manor, likewise in Chester County, about the 
year 1743. At this school were educated for the greater 
part a number of eminent men, such as Rev. Samuel Da- 
vies, afterward President of Princeton College; John 
Rodgers, long a pastor of the historic Brick Presbyterian 
Church in the City of New York ; James Finley, who mi- 
grated to Western Pennsylvania and was for many years 
pastor of the churches of Rehoboth and Round Hill, in 
the Forks of Yough, and who afterward had private stu- 
dents in theology, and many others. 

A classical school modeled on the same plan was in 
1743 established at New London, Pennsylvania. It was, 
however, under the care of the Synod of Philadelphia, and 
was to be supported by contributions from the congre- 
gations. The ministers donated a number of books to 
the college library. The enterprise on the whole was not 
successful, as the attention of the students was turned in 
another direction — toward Princeton. 

When the union took place of the Synods of New York 
and Philadelphia (1758) Nassau Hall or Princeton be- 
came the favorite of the united synod. The latter soon 
overshadowed all these classical schools as its curriculum 
of study was so much more varied and extensive than 




Rev. Archibald Alexander, D. D. 
(129, 250, 337.) 



THE LOG COLLEGES. 131 

could be obtained in the former. In consequence, to 
Princeton went the majority of the Presbyterian students 
in their preparation for the ministry. 

Schools beyond the Alleghanies. — The same spirit in 
relation to an educated ministry crossed the Alleghanies 
into Western Pennsylvania, with the Presbyterian emi- 
grants from New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Mary- 
land and Virginia. It is worthy of note the facilities at 
that time for crossing the Alleghany Mountains into the 
fertile valley of the Ohio were limited to two military 
roads — the one made by Braddock (1755), which com- 
menced at where Cumberland, Maryland, now stands, and 
the other made by General Forbes (1758), up the Sus- 
quehanna and the Juniata rivers and thence across the 
mountains. Multitudes of immigrants, the great major- 
ity of whom belonged to the different branches of the 
Presbyterian family, began to pour into that region after 
peace was assured by France in 1763, ceding Canada to 
England. The prosperity of these various settlements 
was unprecedented. We find in that region, within twen- 
ty or twenty-five years after the great migration began, 
a number of private classical and theological schools, each 
having a limited number of young men as pupils, many 
of whom were studying for the sacred office. These 
students, in connection with their classical and literary 
studies, took up also the study of the Bible in its original 
tongues and the Westminster Confession. In conse- 
quence of this arrangement at the end of their academic 
course they were equally if not better scholars in theology 
than in the classics and sciences. This accounts for the 
historic fact that so many of these students, when exam- 
ined by the presbyteries, were found prepared and as such 
were licensed to preach. Oftentimes others, after finish- 
ing the prescribed course of study in these schools, de- 
voted a time, usually not defined as to length, in the spe- 



132 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

cial study of theology and pastoral duties under the super- 
vision of some pastor. Thus was tacitly recognized the 
importance of such students having special instruction 
under competent professors in the science of theology it- 
self, and the influence of this fact led finally to the es- 
tablishment of Presbyterian theological seminaries — the 
first in the Union. 

The Germs of Two Colleges. — One of these schools, un- 
der the care of Rev. Thaddeus Dod, was the germ of 
Washington College, chartered in 1806. This log school- 
house was erected in 178 1 by the spontaneous efforts of 
the Presbyterian settlers in the neighborhood. The latter 
are said to have brought with them their "New Jersey 
and New England tastes," and in consequence, in point of 
zeal, for the promotion of education, were in advance of 
most of the other settlers. 

Rev. Joseph Smith was born in 1736 and graduated 
from Princeton in 1764, and five years later we find him 
pastor of a church, Lower Brandywine. Here he labored 
nine years then migrated to Western Pennsylvania and 
became pastor of two congregations — Buffalo and Cross 
Creek. Here he remained till his almost premature death, 
at the age of fifty-six, after twelve years of unwonted suc- 
cess. A revival commenced soon after he entered upon 
his pastorate and continued to the end of his earthly career. 
"In the pulpit and out of it his power was wonderful 
* * * his manner had a strange power that was inde- 
scribable. His mind had been disciplined by classical and 
collegiate drilling, but in the earnest glow of his eloquence 
he spurned 'scholarly reasoning and cautious logic' as 
an eagle would a ladder by which to climb." 

In 1785 he established a classical school for training 
young men ultimately for the ministry. He had no sep- 
arate building and his self-denying wife gave up her 
kitchen for a school-room. Here commenced the studies 



THE LOG COLLEGES. 1 33 

of three remarkable men : James McGready, Joseph Pat- 
terson and Samuel Porter. They afterward studied the- 
ology under the care of Dr. McMillan, 

The school of that region which far excelled all others 
in its influence was established by Rev. John McMillan, 
D.D., at his residence about two miles from the village 
of Canonsburg. The original building was composed 
of round logs taken from' the forest in the vicinity. Mc- 
Millan was a graduate of Princeton and when about to 
set out for his work beyond the mountains (1776) Dr. 
Robert Smith of Pequa, his theological instructor, urged 
him "to look out some pious young men and educate 
them for the ministry." 

In this log college were educated numbers of young men 
who became missionaries and pastors in that region, while 
others entered upon different professions. The school 
was afterward removed to Canonsburg and eventually be- 
came Jefferson College, chartered in 1802. 

The private members of the Presbyterian churches in 
this region have always been ardent supporters of an 
educated ministry. The self-denial of Mrs. Smith was 
an illustration of the devotion of the women of those prim- 
itive times. The indigent but worthy young men who 
were studying for the sacred office were most cordially 
aided to eke out their support by the ladies of the sev- 
eral congregations. All at that time wore homespun, or 
clothes of domestic manufacture. For instance, to aid 
the students the women often made clothes of domestic 
linen made from the flax of their clearings, and which was 
colored by being boiled with new-mown grass. For win- 
ter wear flannel, made from domestic wool, which was 
carded, then spun and woven and fulled to an extent and 
dyed by means of being boiled amid bark of trees of wal- 
nut, perhaps, more than any other, the color thus pro- 
duced was a light yellow. This "homespun" was used 



134 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

by all in those early days. Tradition tells how Mrs. John 
McMillan was a faithful and persevering helpmeet for 
her husband in his labors in relieving him of many cor- 
roding cares, and how she sympathized with the young 
theologians who were his students, and with what mother- 
ly care she watched over them in respect to their temporal 
wants, and by her never-failing faith and practical wis- 
dom cheered them in their paths of duty. 

After the removal of Dr. McMillan's school to Can- 
onsburg it was known by the more dignified title — the 
Academy. The greater part of its necessary expenses 
was borne by the members of the churches in the country 
round about. The women, as usual, were preeminently 
diligent in their way to aid the institution. One form of 
their raising money for the purpose was to "knit woolen 
socks, which found a ready sale in the stores in Pitts- 
burg." {President Matthew Brown.) 

Study on Two Lines. — In these schools the young men 
were taught the classics in connection with theology; in 
the latter the principal text-books were the Holy Scrip- 
tures in their original languages. Many of these stu- 
dents afterward became the missionaries and pastors for 
the Presbyterian churches scattered through the region 
watered by the Monongahela, the Allegheny, the Upper 
Ohio and their tributaries. As Presbyterian immigrants 
from east of the mountains came flocking in, churches 
and preaching stations increased in number, and to supply 
their wants with greater facility the Presbytery of Ohio 
was set off from that of Redstone in 1793. This was done 
in accordance with that most influential custom incident 
to the presbyterian form of church government, namely, 
that of promoting a frequent and fraternal intercourse 
among its ministers and elders, as they meet from time 
to time in the church judicatures; in such meetings of 



THE LOG COLLEGES. 1 35 

their representatives the private members of the church 
take an intelligent interest. 

Schools Further South beyond the Alleghanies. — A 
similar spirit in respect to education animated the pio- 
neers of Presbyterianism in the South, who crossed the 
same mountains into East Tennessee and thence to Ken- 
tucky. Rev. Samuel Doak, a graduate of Princeton and 
also a student of theology under the direction of Dr. Rob- 
ert Smith at Pequa, was licensed to preach by the Pres- 
bytery of Hanover in 1777. He went as a missionary 
to the settlements on the Holston, and took up his resi- 
dence in its valley, and there in order to eke out his sal- 
ary he cultivated his own farm. He was ever diligent 
in preaching and laboring in the settlements in thdt re- 
gion. He also erected a log-house and established a clas- 
sical and theological school, the library for which was car- 
ried across the Alleghanies on pack-horses. This school 
became Washington College in 1795. This was the first 
chartered college in the Valley of the Mississippi ; Jeffer- 
son, in Western Pennsylvania, was seven years younger. 
Dr. Doak presided over Washington College for twenty- 
three years. He then removed to the vicinity of Greene- 
ville, Greene County, where he established another clas- 
sical school, which was named Tusculum Academy — that 
title was changed to college when it was incorporated by 
the legislature; and finally it was united with Greene- 
ville College (1868) and is now known as Green eville and 
Tusculum College. "Few men in the history of the church 
were better fitted by wisdom, sagacity, energy and learn- 
ing to lay the foundations of social and religious institu- 
tions than Dr. Doak." {Gillett, I., p. 427.) 

Hezekiah Batch. — In 1785 Hezekiah Balch came into 
East Tennessee. He was a graduate of Princeton in 1762 
and had been a classical teacher and student of theology. 
He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New 



I36 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Castle, and finally migrated to East Tennessee. There he 
labored in preaching and teaching for more than twenty 
years. His influence was also exerted in establishing 
Greeneville College. 

Three ministers in this region, Samuel Carrick, Charles 
Cummings and Hezekiah Balch, and others, overtured 
the Synod of Philadelphia to be formed into a presbytery. 
In answer to this request the Presbytery of Abington was 
set off from that of Hanover and constituted in 1785. 
Within its jurisdiction was included the territory now oc- 
cupied by the States of Tennessee and Kentucky. This 
was the second presbytery organized in the valley of the 
Mississippi, that of Redstone being the older by four 
years. 

It is an interesting fact that there were at this same 
period two centers of Presbyterian influence west of the 
Alleghanies, and on the eastern edge of the great and 
marvelously fertile valley of the Mississippi. The settle- 
ments on the headstreams of the Tennessee and the ad- 
jacent regions, and those on the headstreams of the Ohio, 
were almost due north and south, while between them 
was virtually an unbroken wilderness of nearly four hun- 
dred miles. We shall see in the course of this history, 
when the necessity and opportunity came, with what zeal 
these Presbyterians labored to send the gospel to the des- 
titute settlements that were afterward founded within the 
valley of the Mississippi. 



XVII. 

Presbyterian Settlements in the Shenandoah 

Valley. 

During this period of which we have been writing 
movements in founding settlements were going on in the 
Shenandoah valley of Virginia. The first migration 
thither was led by Joist Hite in 1732. Nearly, if not all 
of these settlements were made by the emigration of Pres- 
byterians from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland; 
to these in after years were added Quakers and Germans 
from the same states. These migrations came principally 
from the northern portion of the great valley known as the 
Cumberland in Pennsylvania and Maryland, the Shenan- 
doah in Virginia, and still further south, as the Tennes- 
see. This continuous valley extends nearly one thousand 
miles along the depression east of the Alleghanies and 
west of the Blue Ridge in Virginia, and the corresponding 
highlands in the other States. 

The Letters of the Synod and of the Governor. — The 
Synod of Philadelphia (1738), on the request of John 
Caldwell — the maternal grandfather of the famous 
statesman, John Caldwell Calhoun of South Carolina — 
sent a commission of two of its members to wait on Lieu- 
tenant Governor Gooch at Williamsburg, Virginia. Mr. 
Caldwell wished to lead a colony from Pennsylvania to 
homes in the valley of the Shenandoah, and the object of 
the commission was to obtain a permit for this company 
to migrate to "the back-parts" of his colony. The mem- 
bers of the synod state in their petition that they are of 
11 



I38 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

"the persuasion of the Church of Scotland * * * 
that those of their profession in Europe, have been re- 
markable for their inviolable attachment to the House of 
Hanover, and to our gracious King George (II.), and 
we doubt not but these our brethren will carry the same 
loyal principles to the most distant settlements where 
their lot may be cast/' 

The following year the governor sent an autograph 
letter to the moderator of the synod, in which after some 
preliminary remarks he said : "You may be assured that 
no interruption shall be given to any minister of your 
profession who shall come among them (the settlers), so 
as they conform themselves to the rules prescribed by the 
Act of Toleration in England, by taking the oaths thereby, 
andf registering the place of their meeting, and behave 
themselves peaceably toward the government." We shall 
see in this narrative how this promise was kept. {See p. 
164.) The governor was willing that these settlements 
should be made in that region, so distant from those on 
the tide-water, since they served as a protection against 
the incursions of the Indians. 

Presbyterians in North Carolina. — In course of time 
these Presbyterians found their way into the fertile re- 
gions further south in North Carolina, in the County of 
Mechlinberg and in the valley of the Catawba. Numbers 
of them also crossed over the Blue Ridge and settled in 
the adjacent portion of Virginia, and there took part half 
a century later in a remarkable struggle for religious 
liberty. Afterward many others passed over the Allegha- 
nies into what is now Kentucky and Tennessee, carrying 
with them as household books the Bible, the Westmin- 
ster Confession and its Catechisms. 

These settlements having increased in number, applied 
to the Synod of Philadelphia to send them Presbyterian 
ministers. In 17 19 Rev. Daniel Magill traveled among 



SETTLEMENTS IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY. 1 39 

them as an evangelist and labored for several months in 
the region and organized a church in the vicinity of where 
now stands the town of Martinsburg. Some years later 
(1732) another church was organized at Opeckon, a few 
miles south of the site of the present city of Winchester. 
The tide of newcomers continued to flow on for many 
years. Meanwhile other churches were constituted and 
the cry for help came up again and again to the synod for 
more ministers, who might serve as settled pastors when 
the people became able to support a stated ministry. The 
Rev. James Gelston, a member of the Presbytery of Don- 
egal, became pastor (1737) at Opeckon. Meantime itin- 
erants were visiting these scattered and feeble churches, 
but which in the course of years became strong enough 
to support pastors. The valley, so beautiful in its natural 
features, the fertility of its soil and the healthfulness of 
the climate, attracted settlers in large numbers. The Rev. 
John Blair, afterward famed for his talents and his suc- 
cess as a preacher, itinerated throughout the entire region 
for two years (1745-6). 

The Mission of William Robinson. — The Presbyterians 
in Hanover County, who still continued to worship in the 
"reading houses" (p. 122), heard of these churches and 
preachers of their own persuasion in the valley of Vir- 
ginia, and they too sent a deputation to the Presbytery of 
New Castle to obtain a minister. The presbytery in re- 
sponse sent the Rev. William Robinson, who as an evan- 
gelist had been laboring among the churches in the valley 
during the previous winter. Robinson was the son of a 
wealthy English Quaker, who migrated when a youth to 
the colonies. On July 6, 1743, Robinson preached to a 
large audience the first Presbyterian sermon ever heard 
in Hanover County. On the following day the congrega- 
tion was greatly increased in number, and so continued 
for four days — the length of time that he could remain 



140 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

with them. Many were awakened and some were con- 
verted, and all were deeply impressed. The people man- 
ifested their gratitude by offering to pay him liberally for 
his services, but he absolutely refused to receive any com- 
pensation. But they were not to be baffled. They found 
means to slip the silver into his saddlebags, and when he 
came to handle them he noticed their unusual weight, and 
on investigation he found the money. "It is your gift," 
said he, "and there is a providence in it. I know a worthy 
young man who is struggling under pecuniary difficul- 
ties in his studying for the ministry. I will give him the 
money, and perhaps he may yet come and preach for you. 
As soon as he is licensed we will send him to visit you; 
it may be that you may now, by your liberality, be edu- 
cating a minister for yourselves." Four years later that 
young man — Samuel Davies — (1747) came to Hanover 
to the same people and remained for twenty-two years 
their pastor till called by the church to higher and more 
responsible positions. He has been characterized on good 
authority as one of "the greatest divines the American 
Presbyterian Church has produced" — certainly of the 
colonial period. 

Dr. Samuel Davies. — This remarkable man deserves a 
passing notice. Of Welsh extraction, born in 1723 in the 
colony of Delaware, his father a farmer of moderate 
worldly means and of a devout character, his mother of 
superior mental endowments and very ardent in her re- 
ligious convictions. Like Hannah of old, she consecrated 
her son to the Lord, and for that reason named him Sam- 
uel. Davies was the most noted man in the church of that 
period, not merely as an eloquent and devotedly pious 
and successful preacher, but as a grand organizer and of 
great influence among the people and his ministerial breth- 
ren because of his mental power and symmetry of charac- 
ter. He traveled much in the colonies and was listened 



SETTLEMENTS IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY. 141 

to by sympathetic multitudes. The congregations to 
which he ministered in Virginia were some fifteen or 
twenty miles apart, because the colonial authorities under 
the influence of the clergy and the illiberal vestries would 
not permit any more dissenting meeting-houses to be 
built, notwithstanding the wants of the people. The peo- 
ple in great numbers and often from long distances flocked 
to hear him preach. He was not only well versed in Chris- 
tian scholarship, as his theology was drawn directly from 
the principles of the Bible, but he was at home in the laws 
of England in respect to the established church and the 
proper interpretation and intent of the famous partially 
liberal Act of Toleration enacted in 1690. 

In his younger days especially Davies was in very deli- 
cate health, and he seemed moved as in the presence of 
death when he preached, which he often did after a night 
of pain and sleeplessness. He was afterward President 
of Princeton College, and to raise funds in whose behalf 
he was sent to England. On one occasion in returning to 
Hanover from a meeting of the Synod of New York 
(1748), to which he belonged as a member of New Castle 
Presbytery, he brought with him a young man — John 
Rodgers — just licensed to preach. Forty years afterward 
(p. 208) Rodgers took part in the formation of the 
General Assembly (1788), at which time he was also pas- 
tor of the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City. 
On his way Rodgers dared preach somewhere without the 
formality of a license from the Virginia authorities, which 
he intended to obtain at Williamsburg. His application 
was flatly refused by the council — all churchmen — 
though it appears Governor Gooch favored giving the 
young man a license. Rodgers had dared in the presence 
of the council to assert his inherent right as a minister to 
preach the gospel. 

An Incident. — We give place to an incident connected 



1 42 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

with this refusal of a license to preach. A clergyman of 
the establishment who learned of the preaching of Rodg- 
ers, rode some forty or fifty miles to make a charge 
against the young man before the Governor and Council 
for thus preaching and to urge his exemplary punish- 
ment. When he presented himself before Governor 
Gooch he met an unexpected reception. The latter's in- 
dignation burst forth; said he: "I am surprised at you! 
You profess to be a minister of Jesus Christ, and you 
come and complain of a man and wish me to punish him 
for preaching His gospel ! For shame, sir ! Go home and 
mind your own duty. For such a piece of conduct you 
deserve to have your gown torn from your shoulders." 

The Presbyterians of Hanover Specially Hated. — This 
council undertook to discuss, if not decide, how many 
meeting-houses the dissenters should have. That council 
— all churchmen — was particularly hostile to the Presby- 
terians of Hanover County, and especially so because they 
were not immigrants from the other colonies, but were 
resident laymen of the established church, and had of their 
own accord, as a matter of Christian duty, refused to at- 
tend the services of the church for reasons already stated 
(Section XV.), and this before they had learned of such 
a denomination as the Presbyterians. 

The council argued that the Act of Toleration might 
apply to the Presbyterians that lived west of the Blue 
Ridge, because with the permission of the Governor they 
had come thither from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and 
Maryland, but not to those who, on religious grounds, 
had withdrawn from the established church and thus cre- 
ated a schism and became dissenters of the most offen- 
sive character. This was virtually the opinion of Peyton 
Randolph, the king's attorney, and the most bitter lay 
opponent of the Presbyterians in Hanover County. (See 
p. 1 68.) 



SETTLEMENTS IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY. 1 43 

The Two Modes of Levying Church Rates. — In this 
connection it may be noted that the Cavaliers of Virginia 
and the majority of the congregational portion of the Pur- 
itans of Massachusetts and Connecticut, virtually agreed 
in deeming it essential that the church should be in con- 
nection with the state, in order that the latter might be 
properly supported. The Congregationalists did not im- 
pose fines for non-attendance at church, as did the Church- 
men of Virginia ; they required only that the taxes which 
were levied upon the citizens of the town for the general 
support of the gospel should be paid. "It was the law in 
both Connecticut and Massachusetts that assessments levied 
on the town for the support of the ministry, the members 
or attendants of the Church of England, were at liberty to 
pay over their assessments to the support of the resident 
Episcopal minister if there was one in the town" (1727). 
All the inhabitants were taxed alike, but an exception was 
made in favor of the Church of England and its members 
that they "should not be charged with the erection of Con- 
gregational meeting-houses" (Ch. Hist. Series, Vol. III., 
pp. 234, 2 35)' What a contrast this mode was with that 
of the Church of England when it had the power, as in 
the colonies of New York and Virginia. In the latter all 
the tithes collected from dissenters were demanded for 
the use of the established church. On the contrary, the 
Presbyterian element among the Puritans repudiated, ab- 
solutely, the right of the civil authorities to interfere in 
religious affairs at all, except so far as to protect all per- 
sons and all denominations in their rights, civil and re- 
ligious. In order to avoid giving the civil magistrate an 
excuse for such interference, they proposed that the Chris- 
tians or church members should themselves bear in full 
the expenses of supporting their own ministers and all 
the liabilities incurred by the church in respect to money 
matters. There is not an instance on record wherein the 



144 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Presbyterians when free and untrammeled by outside po- 
litical influence ever did otherwise than support their own 
church, and accorded the same freedom in religious mat- 
ters to others which they demanded for themselves. 

The Mecklenburg Declaration. — In connection with 
these movements we anticipate, in point of time, an inci- 
dent. The migrations of Presbyterians continued to press 
along the Shenandoah Valley and finally they diverged to 
the southeast, and crossing the Blue Ridge found homes 
in the valleys of the Catawba and the Yadkin, as well as 
in the region between these rivers. This immigration was 
greatly increased; in 1755 because of hostile Indian in- 
cursions that occurred after the defeat of General Brad- 
dock. The nominal center of the settlements thus formed 
appears to have been in Mecklenburg County. 

To this region came the Rev. Alexander Craighead in 
1758; he had been licensed by the Donegal Presbytery 
in 1734. Though eccentric in some of his peculiar char- 
acteristics, he was an ardent advocate of religious and 
civil liberty. He was also a warm friend of George White- 
field and noted for the spirituality of his preaching and 
the many revivals which sealed his ministry. He had, 
likewise, experienced the ecclesiastical tyranny of the es- 
tablished church in Virginia, and when he migrated to 
North Carolina he enjoyed the freedom of speech and 
exercised it with great zeal. For more than twenty years 
as a settled pastor and often as a missionary in the adja- 
cent region he preached the gospel and also proclaimed 
the opinion that religious freedom could be obtained only 
in independence of the British crown. 

To these settlements in a course of years was also a 
large influx of emigrants from the north of Ireland — 
Scotch-Irish — if we may judge from the names of their 
descendants; some came direct from the port of Charles- 
ton, S. C, and others direct from Philadelphia and the 



SETTLEMENTS IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY. 1 45 

Delaware. These Scotch-Irish Presbyterians were char- 
acterized as having "the impulsiveness of the Irishman 
with the dogged resolution of the Covenanter." 

All the Presbyterian ministers and elders, and indeed 
the male church members in this region, were intelligent 
and pronounced advocates of religious freedom. In the 
Mecklenburg County convention they were specially 
prominent in influence and in numbers. When that con- 
vention was in session in May, 1775, a courier arrived 
and gave information in respect to what was transpiring 
in the North. The conflicts at Concord and Lexington 
had already taken place: "Finally with indignation the 
delegates resolved, to throw off the authority of the king 
and parliament." Ephraim Brevard, "trained in the col- 
lege at Princeton," and afterward a martyr in the cause, 
embodied their sentiments in resolutions, which declared : 
"All laws and commissions confirmed by or derived from 
the authority of the king and parliament to be annulled 
and vacated." They were practical men, and they also 
resolved to take measures to maintain their rights. {Four 
Hundred Years, etc., p. 366, and pp. 523-526.) 

This declaration of the convention was an earnest 
of what followed in after years when the War of 
the Revolution was in progress, The battle of King's 
Mountain, which in its influence had a similar effect upon 
the success of Cornwallis that the battle of Bennington 
had on that of Burgoyne, was fought mostly by Presby- 
terians. The leaders in that battle — Cols. Sevier, Shelby, 
and Campbell — were Presbyterian elders, while the pa- 
triots under their commands were for the most part Pres- 
byterians. Gen. Daniel Morgan, who commanded at the 
battle of "The Cowpens," was a Presbyterian elder, and 
so was Gen. Pickens of South Carolina. General Francis 
Marion, of Huguenot descent, was also a Presbyterian. 



I46 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Lord Cornwallis characterized the region around Char- 
lotte, which was settled by the Scotch-Irish, as a "hornet's 
nest." 

A Sad History. — It may not be in vain in this connec- 
tion for the author to yield to the temptation and notice 
the pathetic appeal for aid in respect to education and 
gospel work that comes to the members of the Presby- 
terian Church of to-day from the descendants of those 
patriotic Presbyterians — the rank and file — who, espe- 
cially in this region, sustained their elders as leaders on 
the battlefields of the Revolution. Their elders were 
prominent in the patriotic movements of the times, and 
two of them, Cols. Sevier and Shelby, were afterward 
governors of their respective States, Tennessee and Ken- 
tucky. It is evident the inhabitants of the mountainous 
regions of North Carolina and those of the adjacent States, 
for the most part, are the descendants of the Scotch-Irish 
Presbyterians, who were the rank and file of the armies 
just mentioned. This fact is a clear inference from their 
family names, and besides there was no other people from 
whom they could have descended. These men were in- 
telligent for the times; they understood and appreciated 
the principles of civil and religious liberty, for which they 
hazarded their lives. But alas ! for nearly a century a 
cloud of illiteracy and corresponding ignorance has hung 
over their descendants. How has this calamity been 
brought about? 

Within four years after the first inauguration of George 
Washington as President of the United States, Eli Whit- 
ney invented the cotton gin (1793) ; in consequence slave 
labor became more valuable. The owners of slaves, as 
this value increased, began to covet the fertile fields of 
the small farmers, who did not own slaves, but cultivated 
their lands by their own labor. Prejudices grew up that 
made the situation of the small farmers intolerable, they 



SETTLEMENTS IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY. 1 47 

being treated as an inferior class by the slave-owners and 
their families. The lines were strictly drawn in society. 
Those who earned a livelihood by their own labor were 
stigmatized as "poor whites" or "white trash," and other- 
wise annoyed. Though industrious and honest, the small 
farmers were, virtually, forced to sell their farms in the 
fertile lowlands and retire to less fertile hills and moun- 
tains. Thus the desirable districts of these States were 
gradually absorbed in large plantations and devoted to the 
cultivation of cotton and tobacco by slave labor. 

These outrages did not end here; the lawmakers were 
all owners of slaves ; no other class ever went to Congress 
or even to the legislature of any slave-labor State. The only 
political privilege permitted the non-.slave owner to ex- 
ercise was to vote for the nominees of the slave oligarchy. 
The latter forbid under severe penalties the teaching of 
slaves to read and write ! What a contrast ! Heathen 
Rome did not deny her slaves the privilege of becoming 
educated. The legislatures of the slave-labor States never 
made provision for common schools, as was the case in 
the free-labor States. The slave-owners were able to 
educate their families by means of private instruction or 
by sending them to colleges or seminaries, usually in the 
Northern States. How sadly different was the case of 
these "mountaineers." The parents were poor and unable 
to educate their children, the latter appear in respect to 
that advantage to have degenerated from generation to 
generation. 

It is equally sad to note that during this period there 
seems to have been less effort on the part of Presbyte- 
rians to follow these poor mountaineers with the gospel 
than to bring it in its fulness to the people living in the 
valleys. The result was the mountaineers in course of 
time became alienated from the church of their fathers, 



148 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

as they were ministered to by good men, though compar- 
atively uneducated as preachers and of different faiths. 

When the slave oligarchy in 1861 made an attempt to 
break up the Union, these mountaineers, with the liberty- 
loving spirit of their Revolutionary fathers, rallied to de- 
fend the integrity of the nation. Let wealthy Americans 
who value the preservation of the Union, in gratitude aid 
in giving the children of these loyal patriots educational 
institutions, which to-day they need and desire so much. 



XVIII. 

Pietists — Revivals — Division and Reunion. 

In the first quarter of the eighteenth century "a new 
religious force burst forth, simultaneously, in different 
parts of Great Britain and her colonies." It appeared as 
though the minds of the people in these far-separated 
places were prepared to receive an impulse toward a pure 
and heartfelt religion. These movements were at first 
virtually independent of one another and for a time local 
in their influence. They were the outgrowth of the phase 
of religion characterized by the Puritans as "vital piety." 
The latter were too much influenced by the Old Testa- 
ment in proportion to the New Testament. They did 
not apprehend sufficiently the different stages in divine 
doctrine and morals; but they were faithful to the word 
of God as they understood it. They desired above all 
things to be conformed to God's will ; and so they resisted 
conforming to the prelates' will. Their ideal was a holy 
life in communion with God. This was the noble aspira- 
tion of Puritanism which has made British and American 
society the most ethical and upright, the most manly and 
godly society the world has yet seen." 

Moravians and Pietists. — In the British Isles the lead- 
ers in the movement which began about 1738 or 1739 
were the brothers, John and Charles Wesley, while inti- 
mately with them was associated George Whitefield, so 
famous for his pulpit eloquence. The Wesleys "were 
guided by the Moravians into the light and to the adoption 
of those principles, doctrines and methods which have 



150 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

been the characteristic features of Methodism. * * * 
Methodism is a revival of Puritanism; it is a genuine 
development of British Christianity; and yet it was in- 
fluenced very largely by the pietism of the Continent of 
Europe. But pietism owed its origin to the impulses of 
Puritanism in the seventeenth century. * * * Puri- 
tanism gave the Reformed churches of Holland and Ger- 
many the Covenant theology which became native to the 
soil * * * and that form of vital, experimental and 
practical religion became a potent influence in pietism. 
* * * It was an appropriate international and histor- 
ical recompense that the Continent should receive British 
Puritanism and transform it into pietism, and that subse- 
quently Great Britain and her colonies should receive the 
pietism of the Continent and transform it into Method- 
ism." (Amer. Pres., pp. 54, 55, 239.) 

Influence of Pietism. — The Rev. Jacob Frelinghuysen, 
ancestor of the Jersey family of that name, who came 
from Holland, settled at Raritan, near New Brunswick, 
New Jersey, and there became pastor of a Dutch Reformed 
Church in 1720. Here with great zeal he labored for 
twenty-seven years, and the result was repeated revivals 
during his pastorate. He was thoroughly imbued with 
the principles of the pietists who sought to vitalize the 
piety of the Protestant churches of Germany. He had 
been educated under the care of eminent pietists in his na- 
tive land. George Whitefield represents him in his jour- 
nal as the originator of a series of revivals, saying: "He 
is a worthy old soldier of Jesus Christ and was the be- 
ginner of the great work which I trust the Lord is carry- 
ing on in these parts/' "Frelinghuysen insisted upon the 
necessity of regeneration and the practice of piety in 
order to participate in the Lord's Supper." The same 
doctrine and conditions were, also, insisted upon by Jon- 



PIETISTS REVIVALS — DIVISION AND REUNION. 151 

athan Edwards in the great revival at Northampton, Mas- 
sachusetts (1735). 

Frelinghuysen "was systematic, energetic and indus- 
trious in his ministerial and pastoral duties. * * * 
He was the first pastor of the Reformed (Dutch) Church 
who began to train young men for the ministry." 

Differences of Opinion. — After agreeing upon the 
Adopting Act the synod continued to prosper. During 
twelve years (1729-1741) more than forty ministers were 
added to its number; of these, a few had been trained in 
the American church, but nearly one-half were from Scot- 
land and north of Ireland. Near the close of this period 
a new element of discord intervened. Differences of opin- 
ion were prevalent and had their respective influence. 
Some of these pertained to the establishment of schools for 
the instruction in theology of candidates for the ministry, 
and also in respect to the manner of preaching the gospel ; 
one phase of the latter grew out of the great revival that 
commenced in 1735 under Jonathan Edwards at North- 
ampton, Massachusetts, and whose influence extended 
to the Middle colonies (Patton's Four Hundred Years,etc, 
pp. 266-268). Among the leading preachers in the latter 
were the Tennents — the father and four sons — of whom 
the more prominent was Gilbert, but they all preached 
with power and their labors were greatly blest. They 
were aided also by the celebrated George Whitefield, then 
on his preaching tours through the colonies. Many mem- 
bers of the synod did not approve the manner of the re- 
vivalists, nor certain measures which they introduced, 
neither did they seem to be in full sympathy with the re- 
vival itself; there were, perhaps, as many others who 
looked upon the work as having the blessing of the Head 
of the Church. 

Two phases of complaint were specially obnoxious: 
one, the habit of the revivalists preaching when uninvited 



152 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

by the pastor within the bounds of the latter's parish — 
the answer was the people heard them gladly. The other, 
the censorious spirit which characterized the conserva- 
tive ministers as unconverted;- for this assertion the 
ground seems to have been that they did not fully coincide 
with the measures of the revivalists. 

The Old Side — The New Side. — These unfortunate dif- 
ficulties obtruded themselves, and a few good men were 
indiscreet, while others were harsh in their judgments. 
The opponents of the work were characterized as holding 
"a dead orthodoxy," while it was admitted that the re- 
vivalists were equally orthodox, though they were spir- 
itually alive and vividly imbued with zeal for the salva- 
tion of men — the latter's style of preaching being exceed- 
ingly impressive. The steady conservatives who were 
opposed to any innovations in the usual routine manner 
of preaching, were known as the "Old Side," and the fer- 
vid revivalists as the "New Side." Thus the agitation 
continued for several years; meanwhile much bitterness 
was evolved, and also an immense amount of good in 
spite of the disturbing elements by which many good men 
were carried beyond their usual Christian demeanor. 

The Division of the Synod. — These differences of opin- 
ion and practice finally resulted in the division of the 
synod, inasmuch as the "New Side" or New Brunswick 
party and their sympathizers withdrew, thus causing the 
division. The moderate and conservative in both "Sides" 
mourned this result. 

"The New Brunswick party were zealous for what they 
regarded as vital evangelical truth, and, in the over-earn- 
estness of their purpose, forgot charity and discretion. 
* * * The others, indignant under a sense of wrong, 
were forced to appeal to the authority of the common 
standards and the rules of the synod, which their breth- 
ren had too much disregarded. Thus one party appealed 



PIETISTS REVIVALS — DIVISION AND REUNION. 153 

to the word of God, the other to the Confession of Faith. 
One, zealous for the truth, fell the victim of its theories; 
the other, resolute for order, could see only the letter of 
the constitution." The two synods were therefore consti- 
tuted (1741) — the "Old Side," known as the Philadel- 
phia, and the "New Side," as that of New York; though 
the latter did not take form till four years later, when it 
was duly organized by union with the New Brunswick 
Presbytery (Drs. Gillett and Hodge). 

Illiberal Sentiments. — An incident illustrates the spirit 
that prevailed within the ranks of the Old Side during the 
earlier years of this division. The Presbyterians of the 
valley and also of Hanover County, Virginia, applied in 
1744 to the New Side, the Presbytery of New Brunswick, 
for preachers, and the latter sent them two evangelists, 
William Robinson and William Dean, both graduates of 
Log College. They traveled through the region and 
preached with great success, multitudes flocking to hear 
them. A representative of the Old Side, Rev. John Craig, 
took offense at the preaching of the evangelists, and he 
appealed to Governor Gooch in such terms that the latter 
was induced to urge the grand jury of the colony to indict 
the evangelists. In his somewhat lengthy charge he char- 
acterized these ministers as "false teachers under the pre- 
tended influence of new light and such like fanatical 
knowledge that would lead the innocent and ignorant peo- 
ple into all kinds of delusion." 

Mr. Craig acted only as an individual. Strange as it 
may seem, the Old Side Synod of Philadelphia the fol- 
lowing year sent to the Governor a letter of fulsome flat- 
tery and of thanks for this persecuting action, saying in 
part: "It gives us the greatest pleasure that we can as- 
sure your honor those persons never belonged to our 
body, but were missionaries sent out by some who by 
reason of their divisive and uncharitable doctrines and 
12 



154 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

practices were in May, 1741, excluded from our synod." 
This letter was signed by the moderator of the synod, Rev. 
Robert Cathcart. {Records of Synod, p. 185 — quoted; 
Am. Pres., p. 295). (See p. 161.) During the following 
thirteen years there gradually came in a more liberal 
spirit. 

Says Dr. Robert M. Patterson, page. 19 of his Amer- 
ican Presbyterianism (Edition 1896) : "The Old Side 
made orthodoxy their shibboleth; insisted more on intel- 
lectual qualifications and high education in the ministry; 
were stricter in presbyterial order; the New Side placed 
more stress on experimental religion, vital piety in the min- 
istry, and was more tolerant of departures from ecclesias- 
tical strictness. At the root both were right ; in practical 
conduct and mutual intercourse both were wrong. The 
church has long accepted the essential points for which 
each contended." 

Zeal for Religion. — The period of the division — seven- 
teen years (1 741- 1758) — was characterized by an increase 
of religious influence, especially on the part of the New 
Side, who continued their fervent mode of preaching, and 
which was followed by great increase of communicants in 
the church, and also in the number of young men who be- 
came students and eventually devoted themselves to the 
ministry. In the course of these years such accessions 
were more than fourfold when compared with that of the 
Old Side. The New York Synod exhibited great zeal in 
supplying destitute fields within its bounds, and in conse- 
quence the friends of the revival sympathized with them 
deeply. The Old Side, meanwhile, labored under almost 
insurmountable difficulties. Their lack of interest in the 
revivals, if not their direct opposition, deprived them of 
the sympathy of great numbers of ardent Christians 
within their own ranks, who, perhaps, were there from lo- 
cation rather than choice. Both parties established schools 



PIETISTS REVIVALS DIVISION AND REUNION. 155 

for training candidates for the sacred office, as already 
noted; out of one of these grew Princeton College, and, 
subsequently, the Theological Seminary. 

The Reunion. — During these seventeen years continued 
efforts were made by many in both parties to bring about 
a reunion, as the cause of religion and brotherly love was 
deeply injured by the contention, which on the part of 
some did not partake to a large extent of the spirit of the 
Sermon on the Mount nor of the Golden Rule. But 
these asperities were gradually worn away by the attrition 
of Christian love and forbearance practiced by the pru- 
dent in both parties, till the way was prepared for a more 
stable union of the synods than had ever existed before. 
At length the leading minds of the majority in both par- 
ties were fully prepared to unite the synods, and thus heal 
the breach in the church. During the seventeen years 
of the separation there had been no virtual deviation on 
either side from the doctrinal principles on which the 
Adopting Act was based thirty years before, and they 
could now unite consistently. The first article of the basis 
of the union reads : "Both synods having always ap- 
proved and received the Westminster Confession of Faith 
and Larger and Shorter Catechisms as an orthodox and 
excellent system of Christian doctrine, founded on the 
word of God, we do still receive the same as the con- 
fession of our faith." After a number of minor details in 
relation to some of the presbyteries were arranged, the 
union was completed (1758). 

"At the time of reunion the church consisted of ninety- 
eight ministers, two hundred congregations, many preach- 
ing stations and ten thousand communicants." 

Comparative Failure and Success. — These unfortunate 
differences of opinions did not end here, as the reader in 
the course of this narrative will meet more than once with 



156 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

antagonisms in the workings of church affairs that were 
not harmonious with spiritual progress. 

The terms Old Side and New Side were used, as we 
have seen, to designate two phases of religious thought 
and action; the one lacking sympathy with the progres- 
sive evangelical work of the time, and the other, in marked 
contrast, an ardent promoter of such work. Both parties 
were orthodox; though the one seemed to be spiritually 
in a comatose state, while the other appeared to be spirit- 
ually vitalized. 

Immediately after the division antagonistic feeling, es- 
pecially on the part of the Old Side, was intensely bitter 
and manifested itself again and again; but it gradually 
passed away with the removal or death of ten of the 
prime movers. In consequence, in seventeen years the 
Old Side Synod of Philadelphia gained only four in num- 
ber of its members — originally twenty-six — though four- 
teen new ones were in the meantime added to it. Of the 
latter "not a single one was a graduate of an American 
college." 

The New Side Synod of New York meanwhile in- 
creased in numbers, both of church members and minis- 
ters; of the latter it had at first only twenty. That num- 
ber rose to seventy-two; it had lost eight by death. The 
majority of these ministers were graduates either of Yale 
or Princeton. 

Long Island Churches. — A spontaneous movement of 
far-reaching influence was at this time in progress in the 
colony of New York. The pastors of a number of Con- 
gregational churches on Long Island had from observa- 
tion "become convinced that the presbyterian form of 
government was better adapted for promoting order and 
discipline in the churches than the congregational." A 
number of ministers in Suffolk County held a conference 
at Southampton April 8, 1747, for the purpose of "con- 



PIETISTS — REVIVALS — DIVISION AND REUNION. 157 

certing measures for the promotion of the Great Redeem- 
er's kingdom, especially within their own bounds." After 
much prayer for direction, they adopted "the Westmin- 
ster Confession of Faith, the Catechisms, Directory for 
Worship and Discipline/' Then they organized them- 
selves into "the Presbytery of Suffolk," and appointed 
their moderator, Rev. Ebenezer Prime, and Rev. Samuel 
Buel to attend the Synod of New York and request that 
their newly formed presbytery be received into fellow- 
ship with that body. The delegates were cordially re- 
ceived and their presbytery was taken under the care of 
the synod. Soon afterward, for the most part, the other 
Congregational churches on the island united with the 
Presbyterian Church. (The Prime Family, pp. 28, 29.) 

The Two Records. — The "Old Side" Synod of Phila- 
delphia put itself on record as inimical to the revivals that 
had been in progress for a year or two in Virginia and 
even further south, under the auspices of the "New Side" 
Synod of New York. The latter took measures in 1744 
and years succeeding at the earnest request of the Pres- 
byterians of that region to send devoted ministers to 
preach for them. The result was revivals of religion, not 
only in Virginia, but in North Carolina, laid a firm foun- 
dation for Presbyterianism in these two colonies. 

There was quite a discrepancy in the progress of the 
two "Sides," especially toward the latter portion of the 
seventeen years of the separation. At first the Old Side 
in some respects had greatly the advantage, though it 
failed lamentably in its lack of interest in the revivals then 
in progress, and which had grown out of the measures and 
preaching of Jonathan Edwards and the Tennents and 
George Whitefield. "The Old Side had the prestige of the 
historic succession and the possession of the funds of the 
church, * * * they made no adequate provision for 
training a native ministry ; they reacted into a barren ec- 



158 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

clesiasticism and traditional formalism; they set them- 
selves in opposition to the active forces of the age, and 
they accordingly found it as difficult to secure fresh sup- 
plies of ministers as to enlarge their churches by con- 
verts." 

Rev. Elisha Spencer, a Presbyterian pastor at Jamaica, 
L. I., in a letter dated Nov. 3, 1759, the year after the re- 
union, states that the whole number of dissenting minis- 
ters in the Middle colonies was one hundred and forty- 
three, while there were only sixteen Church of England 
ministers in the colonies of New York, New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania. "It is clear that in the middle of the 
eighteenth century the three latter colonies were over- 
whelmingly Presbyterian." (Amer. Pres., pp. 294.-296; 
313-316.) 



XIX. 

The Separation of Church and State in Virginia. 

The history of this contest deserves special notice, as it 
was the most severe struggle in the annals of the Amer- 
ican Presbyterian Church in behalf of religious free- 
dom; for during the eventful period of the Revolution it 
was the only phase of its history outside the usual rou- 
tine of its regular church duties. 

In a relation so intimate as that of the union of Church 
and State, it is not strange that in former times civil mag- 
istrates should have had a sense of responsibility not only 
pertaining to the people's temporal affairs, but also in re- 
spect to the salvation of their souls. In regard to the latter 
phase of their duties, though unable to define it clearly, 
it is evident that in the performance of their official acts 
in matters relating to the people and the church, they were 
more or less influenced by a sense of this responsibility. 
Here is the germ from which has sprung, and often hon- 
estly, much of the interference of temporal rulers with 
church affairs. On the other hand, those who willingly 
or otherwise contributed aid in the form of taxes to the 
support of the church, wished to have a share in the ad- 
vantages of its ordinances; and, though they might not 
be Christians in a Scriptural sense, and could not fully 
comprehend their relationship to a church spiritual, they 
deemed themselves entitled to the privilege of partici- 
pating in its rites, including that of the Lord's Supper. 
Thus, even in the present day, where there is a union of 
Church and State, in such relation that the former re- 



l6o A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ceives pecuniary aid from the latter, we see a great laxity 
in the admission of persons to that sacred ordinance. 
Much more in former times, if there were any advan- 
tages to be gained in coming to the communion table, this 
class wished to secure them, since they paid their share 
of the expense. This was a natural, though a groveling 
view of the question, and the more intelligent of the un- 
converted had evidently misgivings on the subject, and, 
not being satisfied with their own moral condition, par- 
took of the communion with a confused sense, that it 
might in some way benefit them spiritually. 

The Half-way Covenant. — The influences that in pro- 
cess of time brought about the separation of Church and 
State in this country may be traced to the preaching of 
Jonathan Edwards and to the principles developed in his 
controversy in respect to what was termed the "Half- 
way Covenant," by which persons making no pretension to 
being Christians in a spiritual sense were admitted, among 
other church privileges, to the communion. This custom 
grew out of the union of Church and State more than 
from any other cause. The objections of Edwards were 
based on moral and spiritual grounds alone ; arguing that 
none but the regenerate or converted had a right to come 
to the Lord's table. In time this truth permeated the 
minds of religious people, but more effectually, it would 
seem, the Presbyterians than the Congregationalists ; hav- 
ing its share of influence on the separation of Church and 
State in Virginia, nearly forty years before a similar effect 
was produced in New England. This phase of the sub- 
ject for obvious reasons was scarcely noticed in the de- 
bates in the legislature during the struggle in Virginia, 
though in that controversy the undercurrent of this sen- 
timent influenced the minds of the religious people out- 
side the State or Episcopal Church, and strengthened their 
opposition to such laxity in the admission of persons to 




Rev. Eliphalet Nott, D. D. 
(238, 247, 269, 305, 441.) 



THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. l6l 

church privileges, which custom they believed to be inju- 
rious to pure spiritual religion. 

In his early ministry Jonathan Edwards was the pastor 
of a Presbyterian church in New York City, and he seems 
to have been partial to the form of church government 
practised in that denomination ; and, also, he agreed with 
their views on the non-interference of the civil magistrate 
with spiritual affairs. He afterward expressed his opinion 
of the form of church rule then prevalent in New Eng- 
land, saying : "I have long been out of conceit of our un- 
settled, independent, confused way of church govern- 
ment in this land." On assuming the presidency of 
Princeton College he connected himself with the Presby- 
terians. 

Up to the time of Edwards there seems to have been 
little doubt as to the advantage to both parties of the 
union of Church and State; the prevailing sentiment be- 
ing that the former could not be supported without the aid 
of the latter. The idea of sustaining the church by the 
voluntary contributions of its own friends had found lodg- 
ment only in the minds of the advanced few. We see 
prominent among the arguments used in behalf of this al- 
liance that the church ought to be supported by the secu- 
lar power, on the ground of the general well-being of so- 
ciety, as its influence would promote in the community 
honesty, industry and material interests as well as good 
morals. Under the influence of the preaching of Edwards 
the indefinable responsibility once attributed to the civil 
magistrate in relation to spiritual matters was seen to be 
unscriptural, and instead that responsibility was shown 
to belong to the individuals alone. 

Why the Harsh Intolerance in Virginia. — It is proper 
to notice why the contest in Virginia partook so much of 
bitterness, and why the "dissenters" were treated so harsh- 
ly in that colony. We can thereby divine why these out- 



1 62 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

rages, continuing for nearly a century, produced their 
legitimate results in the final retribution which came upon 
the established church, when it retained only its church 
buildings, while its rectories and glebes were sold under 
the sheriff's hammer for the benefit of that public from 
whom originally nearly all the funds to purchase them 
had been extorted in the form of taxes or tithes. The 
Church of England was established by law in the colonies 
of New York, Virginia and the Carolinas about 1692. In 
the first, the royal governors were the most intolerant to- 
ward "dissenters," while the churchmen, or its adherents, 
were more indifferent on the subject. Perhaps they were 
somewhat influenced by their surroundings — the tolerant 
spirit of the Dutch residents — and, moreover, the Epis- 
copal element in that colony did not comprise, it is said, 
more than one-seventh of the population. In the latter 
three, on the contrary, intolerance was instigated for the 
greater part by the clergy and lay churchmen, the gov- 
ernors being disposed to connive at the exercise of re- 
ligious freedom; that is, they were not very energetic in 
enforcing the illiberal laws on that subject. Why the 
churchmen of Virginia were so in contrast with those of 
New York may be accounted for, since great numbers of 
Royalists — Cavaliers — in the times of the troubles pre- 
ceding and during the Commonwealth fled to Virginia, 
where they were cordially welcomed. They afterward 
gave tone to Virginian society by diffusing their senti- 
ments of loyalty to the king and to the church, which so 
ardently espoused his cause; they looked upon the "dis- 
senters" as enemies to both. 

The "Vagrants" in Connecticut and New York. — In 
those days the spirit of intolerance was not found in the 
established church nor in royal governors alone, as it 
was the natural outgrowth of the union of Church and 
State and the misdirected zeal of secular rulers. In 1742 



THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 1 63 

the Connecticut legislature passed a law forbidding a 
minister preaching in any parish except the one over which 
he had special charge, unless by invitation of the settled 
minister or a majority of the congregation. Ministers not 
residents of the colony thus preaching were to be arrested 
as common vagrants. Under the latter law Rev. Samuel 
Finley, afterward President of Princeton College, and 
others were driven from the colony, being characterized as 
"strolling preachers that were most disorderly." These 
vagrants were Presbyterian clergymen, and no doubt such 
high-handed measures roused in them an antagonism to 
the union of Church and State. In consequence of these 
proceedings and the experience of Presbyterians in the 
colony of New York, this antagonism spread among that 
class of Christians in the Middle colonies and further 
south. 

The Presbyterians had been specially annoyed in their 
earlier days when struggling for existence as a religious 
denomination, both in New York and Virginia, by the 
intolerance of the Church of England. They associated 
the state as the immediate power behind the persecution; 
though the latter, as it was well known, was frequently 
urged to this course of action by the clergy of the estab- 
lishment. "For many years," says a chronicler of the 
times, "in New York, Maryland, Virginia and South 
Carolina, the growth of the Presbyterian Church was 
checked by persecution and intolerance." 

Illiberal Laws in Virginia. — The laws were grievous 
and illiberal in Virginia — more severe than in any other 
colony. The established churches were built at the pub- 
lic expense in each county town, or where there was a 
court-house, thus occupying the positions of influence, 
and the "sects," or "dissenters," as they were contempt- 
uously called by self-complacent churchmen, were com- 
pelled to locate their church buildings elsewhere. For 



164 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

three-fourths of a century rigid laws had been enforced 
against those who did not conform. It is said that until 
the commencement of the Revolution there was not a Pres- 
byterian or Baptist church building in a village in Vir- 
ginia, yet the ministers of the former denomination were 
by far the most learned of any class of preachers in the 
colony. The rule of the presbyteries of that church was 
then, as it is to-day, to license only those to preach who 
have been classically and theologically educated, unless 
under extraordinary circumstances. 

Though "dissenters" were permitted to have church 
buildings only outside the towns, and even to have these, 
unless under annoying restrictions, they were sometimes 
denied, they were, however, graciously warned by the civil 
authorities to "take the oaths enjoined and to register the 
places of their meetings, and behave themselves peacea- 
bly toward the government." This discourteous language 
was used in respect to those Presbyterians who, among 
other reasons, in order to avoid the annoyances to which 
they would be subjected in the eastern portion of Vir- 
ginia, migrated from Pennsylvania to the back part of 
that colony and settled in the fertile valleys of the Shen- 
andoah and other streams west of the Blue Ridge. As 
long as these settlers served as a protection against hos- 
tile Indians they were unmolested, and were permitted 
to have meeting-houses where they pleased. In time Ger- 
mans and Quakers, also from Pennsylvania, and for the 
same reasons, perhaps, migrated thither; thus increasing 
the number of the inhabitants as well as the thrift of the 
several communities. When these settlements had grown 
in population and prospered, the establishment wished to 
occupy the ground, and accordingly the colonial authori- 
ties compelled these "backwoods dissenters" to pay taxes 
in order to build edifices for the established church, and 
to support incumbents when there were very few of that 



THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 1 65 

denomination in the region. The first settlers here pos- 
sessed remarkable worldly as well as church-militant qual- 
ities; they being for the most part Scotch and Scotch- 
Irish. These characteristics developed themselves when 
the attempt was made to carry this law into effect. 

Freedom from Ecclesiastical Clannishness. — The Pres- 
byterians did not come as a body to this country to form 
isolated settlements, as did the Puritans in New England, 
the Dutch in New York, the Quakers in Pennsylvania 
and the Roman Catholics in Maryland. When persecuted 
in England, they preferred, rather than emigrate in a 
body, "to struggle for liberty at home; a struggle which 
eventually was crowned with success" (Dr. Charles 
Hodge, pp. ip, 20). This may account for the fact that 
they were so free from a clannish ecclesiasticism ; though 
strong in their opinions, they fell in with the religious 
people of the colonies and promoted the cause without 
arrogating to themselves any special preeminence. They 
held that Jesus Christ had established a form of govern- 
ment for the church "distinct from the civil authority." 
When parliament, in accordance with "the English idea 
that the church of any denomination was the creation of 
the state," abolished Episcopacy and established Presby- 
terianism, the latter church, as such, had nothing to do 
with that action; and, on the same principle, they were 
opposed to any interference whatever in spiritual mat- 
ters by the civil magistrate. "When the arbitrary meas- 
ures of Charles I. drove the English nation into rebellion, 
the partisans of the Court were Episcopalians ; the oppo- 
site party was, or became in the main, Presbyterian" (Dr. 
Hodge, p. 23). These were their traditions, and, true to 
their influence, the Presbyterians harmonized with the 
other denominations in the colonies in the effort of spread- 
ing the gospel, irrespective of the patronage or opposi- 
tion of the civil authorities. 



1 66 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Grades of Ministerial Education. — In the earlier days 
of Virginia the College of William and Mary was estab- 
lished ostensibly "to educate a domestic succession of 
Church of England ministers," as well as to teach the chil- 
dren of the Indians. But for nearly a half-century preced- 
ing the time of which we write, the education of native 
clergymen was rather discouraged than otherwise. There 
was, in truth, no special inducement for pious young men 
to qualify themselves for the sacred office, as so many of 
the ministers in the established church in the colony were 
from England. The latter were appointed by the home 
government and the Bishop of London, to whose diocese 
the colonies were assigned, and who ordained them, as 
there was no bishop in America till after the Revolution. 

Meanwhile, the "dissenters," and notably the Presbyte- 
rians, were making strenuous efforts to educate young 
men for the sacred office. Early in the eighteenth century 
the latter established schools to educate young men for 
the ministry, and persistently refused to license any to 
preach who had not a classical and theological training, 
knowing that the influence of an educated ministry 
must ever be beneficial. In 1748 it was proposed in the 
Synod of New York and Philadelphia — then the highest 
judicature in the church — to relax the demands for the 
classical, literary and theological qualifications of candi- 
dates for the ministry. This proposition was voted down 
by a large majority. Instead of diminishing the time as- 
signed for such preparation, the synod, as if to be em- 
phatic, added another year to the prescribed course of 
study for their theological students. This same spirit 
influences the Presbyterians of to-day as much as it did 
those of nearly one hundred and fifty years ago. They 
now excel all others in the number of their theological 
seminaries and in the richness of their endowments. This 
strictness in demanding a thoroughly educated ministry 



THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 1 67 

has had a marked effect in raising the plane of general 
intelligence among the private members of their denom- 
ination. 

Says Benedict in his history of the Baptists of that day 
in Virginia: "Their preachers were without learning, 
without patronage, generally very poor, plain in their 
dress, unrefined in their manners, and awkward in their 
address." Dr. Foote, when writing of the same period 
in his sketches of Virginia (p. 375) says: Though gen- 
erally without education, "the zealous Baptist ministers, 
with all the energy of excited spirits inflamed by their 
contemplation of divine truth and visions of the spiritual 
world/' preached and labored, and by their fervid exhorta- 
tions, multitudes were brought to believe and be saved. 
Dr. Robert Baird, in his "Religion in America," makes a 
similar statement, both as to their education and their 
zeal. The ministers of this denomination, especially in 
the earlier portion of the eighteenth century, suffered 
more in Virginia from harsh treatment than the other 
preachers. Their comparative lack of education may 
have been the occasion of their being treated so contempt- 
uously by the establishment and the civil authorities. 
Oftentimes, when imprisoned for proclaiming the Gospel 
in their way, they preached to the sympathizing people 
from the grated windows of the jails in which they were 
confined. Let their unflinching Christian zeal and self- 
denial be honored and emulated ! 

Severe Conflicts — The Act of Toleration. — Previous to 
the time of which we write occurred many struggles be- 
tween the dissenters and the civil authorities, because of 
the intolerance of the latter. These controversies contin- 
ued for more than a third of a century, and, by eliciting 
discussion, prepared the minds of intelligent people for 
the grand result — the separation of Church and State. In 
Hanover County — "the birthplace of Presbyterianism in 



1 68 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Eastern Virginia" — were several churches of that denomi- 
nation, and here labored and preached the celebrated Sam- 
uel Davies. (See XV.) His ministrations were inter- 
fered with by the Governor and Council; they being urged 
on by the clergy of the establishment. On one occasion 
the matter came before the General Court, when Davies 
argued with great force and eloquence in opposition to 
Peyton Randolph, the king's attorney. Davies con- 
tended that the English "Act of Toleration" applied to the 
relief of dissenters in Virginia as well as to the same class 
in England. He won, by his eloquence and learned argu- 
ments in favor of religious freedom, the admiration of the 
better portion of his opponents, who complimented him by 
saying he "was a good lawyer spoiled." The Presby- 
terian ministers in Virginia, as well as elsewhere, were 
careful to conform to the requirements of the Toleration 
Act, in obtaining licenses before they began to preach. 
It is worthy of note that not one charge, in this respect, 
of improper conduct on the part of their ministers was 
ever even intimated against them by their bitterest ene- 
mies — the clergy and vestrymen of the established church. 
The Presbyterians determined to test the question further, 
and when Davies afterward went to England to solicit 
funds for Princeton College they authorized him to 
bring the case before the King in Council. He did so, 
and obtained the decision that the Act of Toleration did 
apply to the colony of Virginia (1748). In consequence 
of this decision, the General Court of the colony permitted 
the Presbyterians to establish three new places for preach- 
ing. These church buildings were twelve or fifteen miles 
apart. Under the circumstances this concession was an 
immense gain, and it was obtained by the perseverance 
and learning of the ministers belonging to the Hanover 
Presbytery. The other denominations — Baptists and 
Quakers — were deeply interested and did all they could to 



THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 1 69 

promote the cause of religious toleration by petitions, but 
the Presbyterians had the boldness to demand religious 
freedom as a natural right, and to argue the question be- 
fore the civil courts, or with the legislature, and, after a 
long struggle, secured the ultimate result in the separation 
of Church and State. This was the legitimate effect of 
their being able to enforce their own arguments and refute 
those of their opponents. 

Efforts to Reform Clerical Morals. — In no country 
where the union of Church and State existed, did the civil 
authorities ever appear to have clear conceptions of that 
religious liberty which arises from the spiritual condi- 
tion of man. The magistrates, from their official acts, 
seem to have had only a dim perception of that all-impor- 
tant qualification of a preacher of the gosptl — a 
change of heart, or to be a Christian, It is not unreason- 
able to suppose the main cause of this has been that they, 
themselves, for the greater part, were, individually, 
strangers to spiritual religion. No matter how pure in 
their private life, and evangelical in doctrine preachers 
were, these essential qualifications were oftentimes un- 
recognized by the secular rulers in appointing them to 
parishes. The prevalence of these deficiencies was one of 
the objections alleged against the clergy of the established 
church in Virginia at a much earlier period than that of 
which we write. Sir William Berkeley — that staunch 
churchman — complained, nearly a century before the final 
struggle began, when writing of the clergy, that "as of 
all commodities so of this — the worst are sent us — and we 
have few that we can boast of." The legislature of Vir- 
ginia found it necessary to prescribe by law certain nega- 
tive qualifications of a minister of the established church. 
"He was not to give himself to excess in drinking or riot, 
and spending his time idly by day or night; but to hear 
or read the Holy Scriptures, catechise the children, and 
13 



170 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

visit the sick." A writer states that "many clergymen of 
profligate lives had found a home in these unfortunate 
colonies, and found impunity in crime from the want of a 
power able to correct them." These evils were so glaring, 
that it was assumed that those sent to the colonies as 
clergymen were not exemplary Christians, and the evil 
was not limited to Virginia, as it was enjoined that "on 
the arrival of any ship in the waters of Maryland, the 
nearest clergyman [of the church] was to make inquiry 
whether any minister was on board, and, if so, what his 
demeanor had been upon the voyage." The clergy them- 
selves complain (1755) that "so few from the two Uni- 
versities (Oxford and Cambridge) came to the colony," 
and that "so many who are a disgrace to the ministry find 
opportuities to fill parishes" {Dr. Hazvks, Vol. I., p. II?, 
and Vol. II., pp. 80-101). At a still later day it was 
charged that "these gentlemen clergy spent much of their 
time fox-hunting and aping the sports of the aristocracy 
at home, and in company with the more dissolute of their 
parishioners." Says Bishop Meade {Vol. I., p. 10) : "It 
is a well-established fact, that some who were discarded 
from the English church yet obtained livings in Virginia." 
As these ministers were appointed by the civil govern- 
ment, their theological education and their moral worth 
were not scrutinized as they should have been. These 
deficiencies had much influence in forming a sentiment 
by no means favorable to the clergy of the establishment 
in the minds of the truly religious, not only among "dis- 
senters," but among the same class of churchmen them- 
selves; and a tacit protest existed against a system that 
permitted men of such character to enter upon the sacred 
office. It must not be inferred from these statements that 
there were no excellent Christian men in the establishment, 
who labored faithfully in their parochial duties ; especially 
could this be said of the native-born. 



THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 171 

It has been charged that on the part of the "dissenters" 
there was an unwarranted hostility toward the establish- 
ment. The Presbyterians found no fault with the doctrines 
of the Church of England as set forth in her Articles, 
nor did they with her mode of worship or government, as 
her own members preferred. They demanded for them- 
selves the same religious privileges that they were willing 
to concede to other denominations, but they denied most 
emphatically the right of a legislature to interfere, in any 
manner whatever, with "the spiritual concerns of re- 
ligion." Said the Rev. Samuel Davies : "Had the doc- 
trines of the Gospel been solemnly and faithfully preached 
in the established church, I am persuaded there would 
have been few 'dissenters' in these parts of Virginia, for 
their first (main) objections were not against her peculiar 
rites and ceremonies, and much less against her excellent 
Articles." 

Preachers Appointed by the Crown. — It was a griev- 
ance of which intelligent Christian churchmen themselves 
complained, that their preachers were appointed by the 
Crown without reference to the wishes of the people of the 
parish. In Virginia and Maryland the vestries might pre- 
sent or recommend a preacher who had not been thus ap- 
pointed, but even then the governor had the absolute right 
of inducting or putting him in actual possession. Under 
the more liberal system of the union of Church and State 
in Massachusetts and Connecticut, the churches were 
built where needed and the money raised from the whole 
people of the town or district, who voted the amount and 
taxed themselves to pay it. The minister was chosen by 
the members of the church, and in consequence he was 
acceptable to the majority, and, if not, he could be changed 
for another ; but, as a general rule, he remained for life or 
during a long pastorate. This was quite in contrast with 



172 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the arbitrary system that obtained in Virginia and Mary- 
land. 

The English Church Established — When? — The 
Church of England was established in Maryland by the 
act of King William in 1692, and in North Carolina fifteen 
years later; the population being composed of "Pres- 
byterians, Independents, Quakers, and other evil-disposed 
persons." This, it was said, was accomplished by a legis- 
lature illegally chosen. The taxes imposed in conse- 
quence roused a bitter feeling in the minds of the "dis- 
senters," who by the same legislature were deprived of 
many of iheir civil rights; the latter were not recovered 
until the close of the Revolution. The same church was 
established in South Carolina in 1704 by a majority of one 
vote in the legislature, while two-thirds of the population 
were "dissenters." Meanwhile it had been established in 
the colony of New York (1693), and was supported by 
taxes from all the people in proportion to their wealth, 
though seven-tenths of them were not in sympathy with 
the favored denomination. In New Jersey special favor 
was asked for the Church of England, but was never fully 
granted, and in this anomalous condition it remained till 
the Revolution. There was never any union of Church 
and State in Pennsylvania. This freedom from annoy- 
ance may account somewhat for the rapid progress made 
in the growth of Presbyterianism in these two colonies. 

Influence of an Educated Ministry. — The comparatively 
superior education of the Presbyterian ministers gave 
them a commanding influence in New Jersey and Pennsyl- 
vania as well as in Virginia and in the Carolinas. Their 
zeal and name were identified with the movements lead- 
ing to more religious freedom, particularly during the 
period from the close of the French war (1763) till the 
commencement of the Revolution. For years they had 
been ardently inculcating these principles in the back 



THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. 1 73 

counties of Virginia and North Carolina, and, in the end, 
prepared the minds of their hearers to issue the famed 
Mecklenburg Declaration (May n, 1775). In the con- 
vention which issued it were several Presbyterian minis- 
ters and elders. This influence had already been recog- 
nized in England, and the threat was often made by the 
"church party" that "bishops should be settled in Amer- 
ica in spite of all the Presbyterian opposition." The ob- 
jections of the latter, as often explained, were not against 
bishops in their spiritual character, but in the temporal 
power inherent in an established church, as then existing 
in England and Virginia and the Carolinas. They be- 
lieved that civil and religious liberty should go hand in 
hand, but saw the reverse of this in "Lords spiritual" 
being supported to a great extent by the hard earnings of 
those who did not sympathize with the ritual and doc- 
trines of the established church. 

Conflicts in Respect to Salaries. — During this period 
there were frequent contentions between the Virginia as- 
sembly and the clergy of the establishment in respect to 
the latter's salaries and their payment. This unseemly 
contest alienated more or less the public sympathy from 
the latter. A law of Maryland demanded a poll-tax of 
"forty pounds of tobaccc" for the benefit of the clergy, 
but did not specify the quality of the article in which it 
was to be paid. Many of the planters manifested their 
view of the justice of the law by furnishing the full 
weight, but of a villainous quality of tobacco. One of 
these contests in Virginia was the famous "Parson's 
case," 1763, in which Patrick Henry performed a part so 
important. 

A Great Principle Established. — In the earlier colonial 
days the "dissenters" contented themselves with protest- 
ing against the infringement of their rights as citizens and 
the burdens imposed upon them in the form of tithes or 



174 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

taxes by ihe colonial authorities, oftentimes, as they be- 
lieved, at the instigation of the clergy of the established 
church. The Presbyterians, Baptists, and Quakers all 
chafed under this tyranny, that compelled them to aid in 
supporting a church whose system they did not approve. 
These annoyances — manv of them by no means petty — led 
finally to one of the most interesting episodes in our his- 
tory; the struggle to separate Church and State in Vir- 
ginia. This contest really lasted about twelve years, from 
1773 to 1786, covering more than the entire period of the 
war of the Revolution, and within two years of the adop- 
tion of the constitution of the United States. Owing to 
the stirring times of which it was contemporary, this re- 
markable movement has been overshadowed and has not 
received the attention which its importance deserves. To 
establish the principle of supporting the gospel by the 
voluntary contributions cf its own friends, was as unique 
in sustaining the church as two years afterward was the 
anomaly in history of founding a republic composed of 
States independent in the administration of their own af- 
fairs, and yet under a united national government. In 
each case it was the application of great principles, and 
both have been equally successful. 



XX. 

Separation of Church and State Continued. 

The Struggle Begins — The Memorial. — This contest 
assumed tangible form in October, 1776, though three 
years before the Presbytery of Hanover began the agita- 
tion in respect to church privileges or religious rights by 
appointing commissioners to lay the matter before the 
Virginia Assembly, but "nothing was done in the assem- 
bly that year to remedy the disabilities of 'dissenters.' ' 
The commissioners took action on the subject during the 
two following years, but with a similar result. The Pres- 
byterians were thus the first in taking measures to secure 
the separation of Church and State, nor did they desist till 
the end was accomplished twelve years afterward. 

When the Declaration of Independence was made, the 
ground was changed, and, at the first meeting of the 
Presbytery of Hanover — which was organized in 1755 — 
after July 4, 1776, that body memoralized the legislature 
or House of Assembly to dissolve the union of Church and 
State, and thus leave the support of the gospel to its own 
friends. This memorial discussed the principles on 
which they demanded the separation. Their arguments 
were not successfully controverted, and their cogency in 
the end compelled the assembly to comply with the de- 
mand. The memorial showed that such union conflicted 
with the Declaration of Rights, on which, as the Magna 
Charta of the commonwealth, all the privileges and rights 
of the people, both civil and religious, depend ; that in the 
frontier counties in the valley of the Shenandoah, in 



176 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

which region were very few Episcopalians to aid in bear- 
ing the expense, those not in communion with the estab- 
lishment were compelled by law to bear heavy burdens 
in building church edifices and rectories, purchasing 
glebes, and in supporting the established clergy. As all 
the colonists were now engaged in a contest with the 
mother country on account of infringements of their 
rights, it was inconsistent that all the people should not 
be protected in the freedom of conscience. They expected 
their representatives in the house of assembly to remove 
every species of religious and civil bondage. They argued 
that this oppression retarded immigration to Virginia, 
and also the progress of the arts and sciences of the State 
and of its manufactures. In proof of this statement they 
instanced the rapid growth and improvement of the 
Northern colonies compared with Virginia, and at the 
same time directing the attention of the assembly to the 
many advantages of soil and climate of the latter, yet men 
refused to migrate to a colony where they could not enjoy 
the rights of conscience. 

They argued rhat the gospel asked the support of only 
its own adherents, and did not in that respect need the 
secular aid; that Christianity would prevail and flourish 
by its own merits under an all-prevailing Providence. 
They did not ask ecclesiastical establishments for them- 
selves, nor did they think them desirable for others, as such 
must of necessity be partial, and in the main injurious to 
the people at large. They demanded that every law that 
countenanced religious domination should be immediately 
repealed ; that every religious sect should be protected in 
the full exercise of its mode of worship ; that all invidious 
distinctions in respect to religious denominations should 
be abolished, and every person be free to support any one 
he chose by his voluntary gifts. Such were the senti- 
ments the Presbytery of Hanover advanced on the sub- 



SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE CONTINUED. 1 77 

ject of religious freedom; their arguments cover the 
whole ground, enunciating the principles held and prac- 
ticed to-day as truisms throughout the Union. 

Committee on Religion and Morality. — With other pe- 
titions on the subject, this memorial was referred to a 
committee on religion and morality; of this committee 
Thomas Jefferson was chairman. As evidence of the dif- 
ficulties with which the memorialists had to contend, and 
how little the members of that assembly appreciated their 
true relation to the preachers of the gospel, may be cited 
the following resolution passed November 19. 1776, "That 
provision should be made for the continuing the suc- 
cession of the clergy [of the establishment] and for su- 
perintending their conduct" (Randall's "Life of Jeffer- 
son," Vol. I., p. 205). This resolution, designed to fore- 
stall or control action on the subject, was passed after the 
petitions and memorial had been received and referred 
by the assembly to the committee, and on which the latter 
had not yet reported. 

The Petitions — The Demand as a Right. — The year be- 
fore (1775) the Baptists petitioned the assembly, "That 
they might be allowed to worship God in their own way 
without interruption; to maintain their own ministers 
separate from others, and to be married and buried with- 
out paying the clergy of other denominations" — meaning 
of the establishment (Dr. Baird, p. 219). The Quakers 
also petitioned to the same effect. The Presbyterians 
took higher ground; that it was their right to do this. 
They did not ask for a similar permission, but, on the 
contrary, demanded that an end be put to the assumption 
of any such authority in the legislature by dissolving the 
union of Church and State. The struggle did not soon 
end. The Episcopalians presented counter-memorials 
and so did the Methodists, who in that day deemed them- 
selves in a measure allied to the Church of England, and 



178 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

were known as the Wesleyan connection. When the 
Revolutionary contest began great numbers of the Church 
of England clergymen, who had come from England, 
went back to that country and left their parishes vacant. 
These parishes in large numbers were filled by Methodist 
ministers; the latter falling heir in a measure to the 
emoluments of the parishes. The Methodists maintained 
that the State violated its pledges given in the early days 
of the colony to the established church, and that its claims 
were in the form of a vested right. In truth they never 
were ''dissenters;" on the contrary, their sympathies and 
church interests were with the establishment; while their 
ministers in Virginia, during this struggle, were for the 
most part Englishmen. These were sent first (about 
1770) by the London conference, America being consti- 
tuted on that occasion as the fiftieth circuit. (Dr. Ste- 
vens' "Hist, of Methodism," Vol. I., p. 442.) 

Upon Whom Fell the Burden of the Conflict. — The 
brunt of this conflict fell upon the ministers and laymen of 
the Presbyterian Church. As preachers and exhorters the 
Baptists were very successful, but it required better- 
educated men to cope with the lawyers and statesmen in 
the Virginia assembly, and to repel the arguments for the 
continuance of the union of Church and State. "The Bap- 
tists/' says Dr. Hawks, "though not to be outdone in 
zeal, were far surpassed in ability by the Presbyterians. 
The latter's ablest memorials came from the Presbytery 
of Hanover" (Vol. I., p. 140). To sustain their views the 
church advocates pointed to the history of such union as 
existing from Constantine onward, while the prospective 
good effects of a separation were at best only a con- 
jecture, as the experiment had never been tried, while the 
arguments in respect to the injurious moral influence of 
appointing improper men rectors of oarishes, had but little 
influence with the legislature. 



SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE CONTINUED. 1 79 

The attempt to support the ordinances of the gospel by 
voluntary contributions of its own well-wishers, appeared 
to the members of the assembly visionary in the extreme, 
especially as the "dissenters" in comparison were poor 
indeed. The wealthy land and slaveholders belonged al- 
most entirely to the established church, and from this class 
a large majority of the members of the legislature were 
chosen. "The establishment," says Jefferson, "was truly 
of the religion of the rich, the dissenting sects being en- 
tirely composed of the less wealthy people." And again, 
"Although two-thirds of our citizens were "dissenters," a 
majority of the legislature were churchmen," "Among 
these, however, were some reasonable and liberal men, 
who enabled us on some points to obtain feeble majori- 
ties." "A majority of the inhabitants were obliged by 
law to pay contributions to support the pastors of the 
minority. This unrighteous compulsion was grievously 
felt during the royal government when there was no hope 
for relief." 

The Legislature Met on Its Own Ground. — The advo- 
cates of the system in the assembly were met on their own 
ground by Presbyterian clergymen, who, by their su- 
perior knowledge of the subject in all its bearings, won 
their cause, and the influence of that example banished 
the system of the union of Church and State from the land. 
One of the positions honestly taken by good men, was 
that injury would be done the cause of religion; they as- 
sumed that unless aided by the State the church would 
languish and fail because of insufficient support. On the 
contrary, the opponents of the system argued that the 
true friends of a pure gospel would, as a matter of duty, 
support the church ; and moreover, there would not be so 
much inducement for those who were not governed by 
the genuine principles of religion to connect themselves 
with the church — this would be a great grain. The argu- 



l8o A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ments for the continuance of the system had greater 
weight then than they would have to-day, since the results 
of voluntary contributions for the support of the gospel 
and its ordinances have proved their fallacy ; as well as the 
remarkable development of the principle of personal re- 
sponsibility in its influence upon individual Christians in 
making them more benevolent and more zealous in aiding 
the cause of religion. This principle now pervades the 
minds of American Christians to an extent impossible 
under a system of the union of Church and State, where 
the responsibility of supporting the gospel is shared be- 
tween its friends and the world at large, or State. 

Objectionable Laws Partially Repealed. — On the 5th of 
of December, 1776, an act was passed by the assembly 
which repealed the laws making it an offence to hold any 
particular religious opinions, and also removing the pen- 
alties inflicted upon those who did not attend the service 
of the established church or worshiped elsewhere. This 
act, though imperfect, in some respects, virtually dis- 
solved the union between Church and State, by repealing 
all former laws relating to that union; it also exempted 
"dissenters" from contributing to the support of that 
church, but left the latter in possession of all the wealth 
it had acquired by taxation in the past — this wealth con- 
sisted mostly in glebes, parsonages, and church edifices. 

The following is the text of the bill: "We the general 
assembly do enact: That no man shall be compelled to 
frequent or support any religious worship, place, or min- 
istry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, mo- 
lested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall other- 
wise suffer on account of his religious opinions or be- 
lief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by 
argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of re- 
ligion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, 
or affect their civil capacities." 



SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE CONTINUED. l8l 

In relation to minor points the contest continued, and 
the bill for the separation did not go fully into effect till 
ten years afterward (1786) ; Jefferson was a member of 
the assembly in 1776, and chairman of the committee 
when this partial repeal was made. During the two years 
following many memorials or petitions were presented 
by both parties to the assembly ; some of these asked for a 
general assessment or tax for the benefit of all denomina- 
tions, and some in opposition; while other petitioners 
stepped back a century and asked that the "sectaries" be 
prohibited from holding meetings, and none but "licensed 
preachers" (meaning of the establishment) be permitted 
to conduct public worship. 

Prejudices Roused — Tories — Whigs — Q uakers. — After 
the commencement of the war of the Revolution a strong 
prejudice was roused against the established clergy, as the 
great majority of them were ardent loyalists, or "Tories;" 
the Presbyterians and Baptists were even more ardently 
"Whigs" — their ministers preached with great zeal the 
doctrine of resistance to tyrants. The Quakers were, 
for the greater part, from principle opposed to war in any 
form, and thus they were often misjudged as to their mo- 
tives. Under the circumstances, which we of to-day can- 
not fully appreciate, it was not strange that so many of 
the clergy were Tories ; the traditions of that church were 
in favor of royalty, and, moreover, a large majority were 
Englishmen by birth. Unfortunately they influenced 
their parishioners almost as much in favor of royalty as 
the dissenting pastors did their flocks in favor of liberty. 

The General Assessment — Another Memorial. — The 
advocates for the union of Church and State did not relax 
their efforts to retain the secular advantages which the 
establishment had already, but earnestly contended to 
secure emoluments, however small. First the attempt 
was made to have a general assessment of taxes to sup- 



1 82 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

port all the denominations alike. The Baptists and 
Quakers as well as the Presbyterians opposed this sys- 
tem; the latter especially, on the ground that aid for the 
gospel in that form was injurious to spiritual religion. 
Accordingly the Presbytery of Hanover came forward 
with another of their well-reasoned memorials (1778); 
eind after courteously thanking the assembly for what they 
had done in repealing some of the offensive and illiberal 
laws, they proceeded to oppose the "plan of a general 
assessment." They argued that the only proper object 
of civil government was to promote the happiness of the 
people by protecting them as citizens in their rights; to 
restrain the vicious by wholesome laws and encourage 
the virtuous by the same means; that the obligations 
which men owe their Creator are not a proper subject of 
human legislation, and the worship of God according to 
the dictates of conscience was an inalienable right. 
"Neither does the Church of Christ stand in need of a 
general assessment for its support; and most certain we 
are persuaded that it would be no advantage, but an in- 
jury to the society to which we belong; and we believe 
that Christ has ordained a complete system of laws for 
the government of His Kingdom, so we are persuaded 
that by His providence He will support its final consum- 
mation." This memorial was also seconded by the urgent 
protests of the Baptists ; the result was that the following 
year the proposed plan of general assessment was aban- 
doned for the time being. We, to-day, take for granted 
the principles here enunciated, they having been so thor- 
oughly discussed, while experience has as clearly proved 
their soundness and utility. These Christian men were 
fully convinced that the effect of the union of Church and 
State was, for many reasons, injurious to spiritual re- 
ligion. Many of these legislators, though they talked so 
learnedly, were unable to appreciate the question in its 



SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE CONTINUED. 1 83 

spiritual bearings, and for that reason alone the authors 
of these memorials never urged the arguments derived 
from this phase of the subject, but judiciously waived 
them, although they were so convincing to themselves, 
and to the church members whom they represented. 

Defects in the Act of Repeal. — It was only in general 
terms that the law of December, 1776. dissolved the union 
of Church and State, and the clergy of the former "still 
retained the glebes — the lands belonging to the parishes 
— and also claimed the right of performing marriage cere- 
monies with the accustomed fees." Therefore the as- 
sembly found it necessary (1780) to enact: "That it shall 
and may be lawful for any minister of any society or 
congregation of Christians to celebrate the rites of matri- 
mony, and such marriage, as well as those hereafter cele- 
brated by dissenting ministers, shall be and are hereby 
declared good and valid in law." Yet under this law the 
Episcopal clergy were, ex officio, authorized to celebrate 
marriages throughout the State, while the ministers of 
other denominations had to obtain a license, and in addi- 
tion, were limited to certain districts or counties. In 
answer to this insulting legislation, the Presbytery of 
Hanover came forward with a carefully prepared argu- 
ment covering the whole ground of controversy, in which 
the wrong of the law in relation to performing the rites of 
matrimony was thoroughly discussed and shown. In due 
time the law was so modified as to be virtually repealed. 

Security of Religious Rights Demanded. — The Pres- 
bytery also complained that "the security or religious 
rights was left to the precarious fate of common law, in- 
stead of being made a fundamental part of our constitu- 
tion as it ought to be." They likewise complained that 
the Episcopal Church was the only one incorporated and 
could hold property, while all other denominations "were 
obliged to trust to the precarious fidelity of trustees chosen 



184 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

for the purpose/' and they, asking nothing for themselves, 
demanded that these inequalities in the treatment of Chris- 
tian denominations should be removed. The assembly 
continued from year to year to suspend Church levies; 
this policy necessitated continual watchfulness on the part 
of the "dissenters," till in the latter part of 1779 these 
levies were abolished; but this action was not acquiesced 
in sincerely, for after the return of peace the Virginia 
Assembly again attempted legislation (1784) on the sub- 
ject; the intention now being to incorporate "all socie- 
ties of the Christian religion, which may apply for the 
same." The reason for this apparent liberality cropped 
out when to the bill was added an amendment authoriz- 
ing a general assessment "to establish a provision 
for the teachers of the Christian religion." The 
Hanover Presbytery took measures to oppose this re- 
newal of that project; but meanwhile, though secretly, its 
friends had been so active that it was apprehended it 
would pass in spite of all their efforts in opposition. The 
question was now in a new form, and in it was a tempta- 
tion. As all would receive aid from the public funds, and 
the experiment of voluntary support might possibly re- 
sult in failure, it was not strange that a few Presbyterian 
ministers for a time wavered, but in the end they came 
back with still greater force to their former convictions 
of the truth, that the ordinances of the gospel ought to be 
supported as a matter of Christian duty by its own ad- 
herents, who should in this action be free and untram- 
meled by any secular or legislative influence whatever. 

Protest against Incorporating the Episcopal Church. 
— Consistent with the original movement was another. A 
bill was brought forward in the assembly to incorporate 
the "Protestant Episcopal Church" — the name assumed 
after the close of the Revolution. This measure was de- 
signed to secure to that church the absolute ownership 



SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE CONTINUED. 1 85 

of all the glebe-lands and the buildings thereon erected — 
all obtained at the public expense by taxation. The per- 
sistent Presbytery of Hanover appeared again before the 
legislature in opposition to this revived measure with its 
still more objectionable features. The celebrated Dr. 
John Blair Smith, who at one time was inclined to favor 
the "general assessment,'' was heard at the bar of the 
house in an exhaustive argument in opposition to the 
enactment of the bill. He continued his address for three 
days; in which the whole subject was so thoroughly dis- 
cussed and the evil effects of the proposed law were so 
clearly pointed out that the scheme was abandoned for- 
ever. 

The General Assessment Again. — The presbytery took 
high ground, saying: "We hope that no attempt will be 
made to point out articles of faith, or to settle modes of 
worship, or to interfere in the internal government of re- 
ligious communities, or to render the ministers of relig- 
ion independent of the will of the people whom they serve!' 
Again, that body protested (August, 1785) against "the 
incorporation of the Protestant Episcopal Church," so 
far as to secure to that church "properties procured at 
the expense of the whole community." The truth is, that 
in this controversy, lasting for nine years, the assembly 
having a majority of its members churchmen, dia not 
keep faith with their opponents outside that denomina- 
tion. From their point of view they thought the ordi- 
nances of the gospel would be unsupported and Chris- 
tianity crippled in its influence. They had never fully 
realized as individuals their personal responsibility in 
the duty of supporting the gospel, as the "dissenters" had 
done during the many years in' which the latter, as a mat- 
ter of conscience, sustained their own ministers and the 
ordinances of the gospel, while at the same time, paying, 
in the form of arbitrary taxes, their share in supporting 
14 



1 86 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

a church establishment, whose ritual and form of gov- 
ernment they deemed "unscriptural." It is strange that 
the self-respect and Christian manhood of the churchmen 
of that day did not induce them to decline receiving money 
thus wrung from their neighbors, whom they were pleased 
to characterize as "dissenters." Some of the best minds 
among the Virginia statesmen were in favor of the "gen- 
eral assessment," such as Patrick Henry, who thought an 
assessment "should be made for some form of worship 
or other"; Edmund Pendleton — "an honest man, but zeal- 
ous churchman," whom Jefferson characterized as, "taken 
all in all, the ablest man in debate he had ever met," 
and Richard Henry Lee, who wrote that "avarice is ac- 
complishing the destruction of religion for want of a legal 
obligation to contribute something to its support," and 
even George Washington wrote to George Mason (1785), 
"that he was not much alarmed at the thought of making 
people pay toward the support of that which they pro- 
fess." On the other hand, the assessment was opposed 
by James Madison and George Mason (the intimate 
friend of Washington), and others — Jefferson being 
abroad at that time as minister to France. In 1799 all 
laws made for the benefit of religious societies were re- 
pealed, and in 1801 "the 'glebes,' as soon as vacated by 
existing incumbents, were ordered to be sold by the over- 
seers of the poor." 

The Effects of Petitions and Arguments. — We would 
not detract one iota from the merit of the Baptists and 
the Quakers in this struggle, but from the nature of the 
case — as they presented only petitions and protests — their 
efforts were not as influential as the Presbyterians, who, 
from their position on a higher plane of education, both 
ministers and laity were able to meet their opponents in 
open debate or by written arguments well put ; thus they 
became the controlling force in bringing about the reform. 




Rev. John Holt Rice, D. D. 

(257, 258, 323, 394.) 



SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE CONTINUED- 1 87 

The latter never wavered in their determination to secure 
the desired end, but, amid discouragements and false faith, 
they calmly persevered in refuting the arguments of their 
opponents, and, in the end, winning to their sentiments 
the more enlightened and liberal-minded churchmen, not 
only in the assembly, but in the State. 

Contest in Respect to the Glebes. — The question of the 
glebes, which grew out of the repealing act, was also 
strongly contested, and deserves a passing notice. It 
was argued that the glebes should be retained by the 
Episcopal Church, as some of the funds applied in their 
purchase had been donations. On the other hand, it was 
contended that the glebes and parsonages were public 
property, bought almost entirely by funds raised by un- 
just taxation — the donations being a very small portion 
of the whole amount. Moreover, the established church 
had had, up to that time, the exclusive use of the funds 
thus raised, the advantages of which use far overbalanced 
the loss of these limited donations, even if they could be 
separated from the common fund; and in addition it re- 
tained its church buildings, though erected by means of 
moneys derived from taxes imposed upon the whole com- 
munity. It was suggested that the churchmen were most- 
ly wealthy land and slaveholders, and it was much easier 
for them, by voluntary contributions, to sustain their own 
church than for the other denominations of Christians. 

On the subject of selling the glebes for the benefit of 
the whole people, the Baptists were more strenuous than 
any of the other "dissenters." Says Dr. Hawks : "There 
was a bitterness of hatred in this denomination (Baptist) 
toward the establishment, which far surpassed that of all 
other religious communities in the colony; and it was 
always prompt to avail itself of every prejudice which 
religious or political zeal could excite against the church." 
(Vol. I., p. 121.) One reason of this hostile feeling may 



1 88 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

have been that the Baptists had been persecuted more 
than the other denominations, and in more degrading 
forms. The remembrance of these outrages came down 
from generation to generation, and roused a feeling that 
was closely allied to righteous indignation. The Presby- 
terians appear to have viewed the dissolving of the union 
of Church and State as the all-important question at issue, 
and when that was accomplished they looked upon that 
of church property as secondary. In accordance with this 
general sentiment of rejecting secular aid in any form, 
the Presbytery of Hanover refused incorporation for 
their denomination, as had been granted the Episcopal 
Church, on the ground that it was contrary to their views 
of propriety, and, from principle, they declined any ad- 
vantage to be thus obtained. The assembly reconsidered 
its action, and finally (1787) repealed the law incorpo- 
rating the Episcopal Church. 

A Half Century of Intolerance Remembered. — The 
Presbyterians also remembered that their church members 
and ministers had labored for more than a half century 
under disabilities caused by the intolerance more or less 
instigated by the Church of England; that in the colony 
of New York ministers of their denomination had been 
imprisoned and otherwise maltreated. Notably was this 
the case of Rev. Francis Makemie, who, when on a visit 
to that colony from Maryland, was sent to jail by the Gov- 
ernor — Lord Cornbury — because he dared preach in a pri- 
vate house when every hall or church building had been 
denied him by the same authority ; that at the instigation 
of the "rector and church wardens of Trinity Church," 
they were not permitted to have a "charter of incorpora- 
tion for their then only church building, but were com- 
pelled to resort to the General Assembly of the Church of 
Scotland (1730), in whose name as legal trustees the 
building and land belonging to "the First Presbyterian 



SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE CONTINUED. 1 89 

Church" was held till the Revolution changed the order 
of things. They had met the same hostile feeling in Vir- 
ginia, and in a still more repugnant form. Yet in the 
famous memorial presented by the Presbytery of Hanover 
to the Virginia Assembly (October, 1776), and in the 
many which followed, no bitterness was expressed, but, 
on the contrary, reasoning on the injurious effects of the 
union of Church and State, on religious freedom, on the 
spread of the gospel and its pure and holy influence on the 
minds of the people. 

An Apology Urged. — It is often urged by way of apol- 
ogy that these intolerant proceedings were characteristic 
of the times ; but why were not churchmen as liberal as the 
"dissenters ?" The latter did not interfere with the Church 
of England in its ordinances ; they never were the aggres- 
sors; but, as best they could, only defended themselves 
from the assaults of the former. The truth is, this self- 
complacent age, though thus apologizing, is scarcely jus- 
tifiable in assuming to be perfect examples of tolerance 
in respect to non-essentials in religious matters, when we 
take into consideration the higher plane on .which all de- 
nominations of Christians are presumed to stand at the 
present time in respect to religious freedom. Is not the 
spirit which to-day manifests itself, sometimes even in 
evangelical denominations, of virtually unchurching those 
who do not use the same mode as themselves in the rite 
of baptism, or in ordaining preachers of the word, as in- 
tolerant in proportion to the light they are presumed to 
have on the subject of religious liberty, as those who fig- 
ured so ignobly more than one hundred years ago ? 

When a Baptist pastor or a rector refuses to give mem- 
bers in good and regular standing in his own church a 
certificate to that effect, if such members wish to change 
their church relations to one that is evangelical, but not of 
the Baptist or Episcopal order, is it strange, if the ques- 



I90 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

tion arises, wherein does such refusal differ in spirit from 
the instances of intolerance recorded in this narrative? 

W ho Began the Movement and Secured the Result? — 
Justice and the truth of history demand that the services 
of those who accomplished this important result — the 
separation of Church and State in Virginia — should be 
recognized. If the statements of certain authors are im- 
plicitly received, the inference would be, that Thomas 
Jefferson originated the measure and carried it to a suc- 
cessful issue. In proof of this theory, they cite the bill 
he drew up to secure religious freedom, which, as chair- 
man of the committee, he introduced into the legislature. 
This measure was not brought before the assembly until 
some weeks after the first memorial of the Presbytery of 
Hanover was presented to that body, and referred to a 
special committee (October 11, 1776), "to take into con- 
sideration all matters and things relating to religion and 
morals." Of this committee Jefferson was appointed 
chairman, and in that capacity he drew up the bill and 
presented it to the House. There is no historical evidence 
that he would of his own motion have introduced a bill 
of that purport, had not petitions and the memorial fur- 
nished him an occasion. This memorial was the first to 
intimate the necessity for the separation of Church and 
State. The arguments which it contained covered the 
whole ground of religious freedom; discussing the ques- 
tions in a manner lucid and terse, leaving nothing more to 
be added. There is not an idea in Jefferson's preamble 
and bill that is not expressed or clearly implied in the 
memorial; the latter is concise and to the point; the for- 
mer is clothed in easy, flowing terms of generalities; a 
sort of theoretical style — if the term is admissible ; a char- 
acteristic of the author's manner in treating similar sub- 
jects. The preamble consists of one sentence, contain- 
ing fifty-two lines of small print, on an octavo page. 



SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE CONTINUED. 191 

The Presbyterians leading, the "dissenters" were the 
first in that colony or State to move in this reform; Jef- 
ferson joined them, not they him. It is well known, how- 
ever, that he held liberal, and now deemed correct, views 
on the general subject of free thought and its free ex- 
pression, and that the presentation of the memorial gave 
him an opportunity of which he availed himself to express 
his sentiments. There is no evidence that he debated the 
question in the assembly; his influence was exerted pri- 
vately and by writing. In 1784 he went to France on pub- 
lic business, and the bill which bears his name, when mod- 
ified by amendments, was passed in 1786 — after the lapse 
of ten years ; thus going into full effect through the ex- 
ertions of George Mason and James Madison, especially 
the latter, who was an accomplished debater and writer. 

During the ten years mentioned the advocates of the 
union of Church and State in the assembly changed their 
tactics almost every session, and under different forms 
sought to gain advantage, however small. These various 
phases of the contest were counteracted by the persistent 
efforts of the Presbytery of Hanover. Jefferson, in his 
Notes on Virginia, as quoted by Randall {Vol. I., p. 
204), charged the Presbyterians with intolerance toward 
other denominations in the Northern colonies. He made 
the inexcusable mistake for a man of his position of con- 
founding the Congregationalists with the Presbyterians. 
He cites no authority for the charge, but he ought to have 
known that the latter were, and had been, consistent ad- 
vocates for all to enjoy the same religious freedom which 
they demanded for themselves; and this right, they ar- 
gued, was derived from a higher authority than that of 
the civil magistrate. This vital idea was in the first me- 
morial they presented to the assembly, and, moreover, 
he ought to have borne in mind that even if the Presbyte- 
rians wished they had no opportunity to practise intol- 



I92 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

erance, as they stood aloof — mever desired and never had 
any control in the civil government of the colonies. Jef- 
ferson, afterward, expressed his gratification that: "All 
beliefs, whether Christian or Infidel, Jew or Mohamme- 
dan, were put on an equality." It does not follow from 
this statement, as has been charged, that Jefferson held 
that one system of belief was as worthy of respect as 
another, but rather that he had in his mind the abstract 
theory of thought and its free expression. 

Religious Freedom and Patriotism. — The Presbyterian 
Church has ever been on the side of religious freedom and 
against intolerance. Throughout her entire history, and 
in all her records, "there is not an act on this great sub- 
ject that received her sanction, for which she need offer 
an apology." They were equally as explicit in regard to 
their patriotism. The synod, their highest court at that 
time, when in session in Philadelphia, in May, 1775, as 
patriots declared: "That they did not wish to conceal 
their sentiments, either as ministers or citizens." Look- 
ing forward to a conflict of arms, they say: "That man 
will fight most bravely who never fights till it is necessary, 
and who ceases to fight as soon as the necessity is over." 
This was the position taken and maintained by them 
throughout the Revolutionary struggle. 

Influence of the Measure in New England. — It is in- 
teresting to note that the separation of Church and State 
in Virginia was not without influence, as within a few 
years afterward, similar results were produced in New 
York, Maryland and the Carolinas, wherein the Church 
of England had been established in colonial times. The 
legislatures of these States dissolved the connection ex- 
pressly by law, but in New England, where the system 
was not so arbitrary and unjust, it lingered on an aver- 
age for forty years longer — Connecticut adopted the vol- 
untary system in 1818 and Massachusetts in 1834. 



SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE CONTINUED. 1 93 

The adoption of the Church and State system in New 
England seemed due to the influence of the union with the 
State of the Independent or Congregational Church in 
Old England, under the domination of Cromwell. The 
Congregational Church being in numbers the leading de- 
nomination in the colony of Massachusetts, though hith- 
erto self-supporting, was induced to fall into line with 
the Cromwell theory. It is strange, however, that after 
we became a nation, the leading minds in both State and 
Church in that section did not sooner recognize the incon- 
gruity of the system with the Constitution of the United 
States, which repudiates the union of Church and State. 

An additional influence with adequate power was 
needed to change this relation of the Church to the State ; 
that force was in the revivals that pervaded the country 
(p. 224) from A.D. 1800 forward for quite a number of 
years. "These wide-spread revivals * * * saved the 
Church of Christ in America from its low estate and 
girded it for stupendous tasks that were about to be de- 
veloped on it. In the glow of this renewed fervor, the 
churches of New England successfully made the difficult 
transition from establishment to self-support and to the 
costly enterprises of aggressive evangelization, into which, 
in company with other churches to the south and west, 
they were about to enter." {Am. Christianity, pp. 244-5.) 

Personal Responsibility Recognised and Strengthened. 
— An important element of influence — that of personal re- 
sponsibility in relation to religious duties — was strength- 
ened by this separation, as the church was thus thrown for 
its support entirely upon its individual members. From 
the time of Jonathan Edwards forward the true position 
of the individual in regard to personal religion became 
more fully understood, and the responsibility for the souls 
of those whom they governed, which we have seen as- 
sumed by the civil magistrate, was gradually shifted from 



194 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the latter to the individual. Consistent with this view, 
evangelical denominations have demanded only one quali- 
fication, entitling a person to the privilege of the com- 
munion — that of being converted or a Christian. In ad- 
dition, this sense of responsibility was still further 
strengthened and made practical when individual mem- 
bers, irrespective of the State, learned to sustain the ordi- 
nances of the Church of Christ, and labored to extend the 
blessings of the gospel; to this principle may be traced 
that remarkable spirit of benevolence, which, in various 
forms, has made our times, when compared with the past, 
the golden age of the world. 

Self -Denial and Benevolence. — The "dissenters" in colo- 
nial times in their hard discipline acquired the grace of 
being benevolent. In their zeal for what they believed the 
truth, they made immense sacrifices ; they paid their share 
not only in supporting a religious establishment with 
which they had no sympathy, but, in addition, sustained 
their own church ordinances — thus manifesting a self- 
denial, which, because of their exertions, American Chris- 
tians, since that time, have had no occasion to practice. 
The churchmen of that day were strangers to such self- 
denial. They had never been in a school where it was 
taught; nor had they learned the truth of each one's re- 
sponsibility in proportion to his means, to aid in support- 
ing the gospel. In the broadness of liberal sentiments they 
were far behind the "dissenters/' and it became a great 
blessing to the spirituality of that church when its entire 
support was thrown upon its own members. 

Influence of the Voluntary Principle. — -The voluntary 
principle, based as it is on individual responsibility, has 
since pervaded the churches of the whole Union, the 
beneficent effects of which are seen not only in the sup- 
port of the gospel in all its special relations, and in aiding 
institutions of learning, but in originating and sustaining 



SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE CONTINUED. 195 

the benevolent operations of our day — greater in pro- 
portion than ever before — while the whole missionary en- 
terprise in the land, foreign and domestic, may be attrib- 
uted to the same principle. These "dissenters" were far 
advanced for the times in the great principles of religious 
freedom and Christian charity. To them the purity and 
the free preaching of the gospel was paramount to all 
other considerations. They held the doctrine, which ob- 
tains to-day among the Protestants of the Union, that the 
Church should not dominate the State, nor the State the 
Church, but that they should mutually sustain each other 
— the one by inculcating good morals and obedience to 
law, and the other by protecting the free preaching of the 
gospel and the practising of its principles. 

A Nations Moral Training. — It is proper in this his- 
tory to notice certain events that had influence in mould- 
ing the moral character and inner life of the American 
colonists. After the great Revolution in England of 1688, 
in consequence of a limited advance made in the Tolera- 
tion Act toward genuine religious liberty, the emigration 
from the British Isles to the American colonies began to 
diminish. The condition of the dissenters was made more 
endurable by that act, as it modified for the better the 
illiberal rule of the bishops of the Church of England. The 
act was presumed to apply also to the colonies. In ac- 
cordance with that view, those Presbyterians who emi- 
grated from the British Isles to America, from 1688 to 
1765, did so not specially to avoid persecution, but rather 
to better their material interests, though no doubt they 
expected to enjoy more fully religious liberty. A partial 
exception was in the case of the Presbyterians in the north 
of Ireland, who suffered much from intolerance. During 
this period many thousands also came from the Continent 
of Europe. 

After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1688) the 



Ip6 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

exiled Huguenots nocked to America even in larger num- 
bers than ever and found homes in the different colonies, 
and were everywhere welcomed as worthy citizens. They 
brought with them their advanced and remarkable skill 
in the mechanical industries, while they also exerted a 
Christian influence. In those days they affiliated much 
with the Presbyterians, though in New York "some of 
their leading pastors accepted salaries from the 'Society 
for Propagation of the Gospel/ tendered to them on condi- 
tion of their accepting the ordination and conforming to 
the ritual of the English Church." 

Great numbers of Germans — Lutherans and German 
Reformed— began to come about 1684. The latter found 
homes mostly in Pennsylvania and were also welcomed 
as a religious, industrious, economical and exemplary 
people. A colony of nearly 5,000 Germans from the 
Palatinate settled in 1707 in the valley of the Mohawk; 
these were followed from time to time by emigrants 
from the same region; numbers of these, however, after- 
ward migrated to Pennsylvania. They were all desirable 
citizens. Such were the classes of immigrants during 
these seventy-seven years. They were all Protestants 
and in their new homes adhered to their religious views 
and high-toned moral principles which they derived from 
their Bibles while cultivating the virtues of industry and 
frugality. 

During this period of seventy-seven years the moral and 
religious principles of the members of these several de- 
nominations composing the colonists had an untrammeled 
opportunity to permeate the minds of all and freely de- 
velop throughout the land. An evidence of that fact is 
found in the stringent laws in respect to morality which 
were everywhere enforced. For illustration : the laws 
in relation to the observance of the Sabbath were as rigid 
in Virginia under the Cavaliers as they were in New Eng- 



SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE CONTINUED. I97 

land under the Puritans. That period was as much a train- 
ing school in morals for the American colonists as were 
the forty years' sojournings of the Children of Israel in 
the wilderness. The latter were never so much imbued 
with religion as when at the end of that time they en- 
tered the land of Canaan; the same may be said of the 
American colonists when they entered upon the struggle 
for independence. The religious tone of the patriots dur- 
ing that contest was remarkable. Witness their trust in the 
care of the Lord of Hosts, whose aid in their cause they 
invoked most reverently. This sentiment pervaded the 
minds of the patriots in every grade of society and in 
every portion of the land, and manifested itself in the doc- 
uments issued by their statesmen. These results were the 
legitimate outgrowth of the Puritan-Presbyterian, scrip- 
tural and moral principles which so much imbued the 
minds of the great majority of the colonists and which 
germinal principles, for three-fourths of a century, had 
thus an opportunity to develop untrammeled by outside 
influence. {Chap. XXIV., Four Hundred Years, etc.) 



XXL 

The Troublous Times. 

The prosperity of the church was great during this 
period of union (1758-1788), but troublous times with 
the mother country were impending, and when the synod 
seventeen years later met in Philadelphia on May 17, 
1775, blood had already been shed, for just one month 
before, to a day, the conflicts at Concord and Lexington 
had taken place. The news had spread throughout the 
country, producing great excitement and anxiety in the 
popular mind. 

Patriotism — The Pastoral Letter. — The synod, in ad- 
dition to its ordinary cares and duties which it owed to 
the churches as such, also realized the dangers that the 
approaching contest would bring upon their country, and 
they made known their patriotic sentiments, and in no 
uncertain tone. They, it seems for the first time, ad- 
dressed a pastoral letter to the members of the Presby- 
terian Church throughout the colonies. The spirit of this 
pastoral was such as to inculcate union among the colo- 
nies, and mutual charity and good-will among the dif- 
ferent religious denominations, and the promotion of good 
morals and good government; reformation of manners, 
personal honesty and humanity on the part of those who 
might soon be called to the field, as a conflict of arms be- 
tween the colonies and the mother country seemed inev- 
itable. The synod ordered 500 copies of this pastoral 
letter to be printed at its own expense, and circulated 
throughout the churches, from whose pulpits it was read 



THE TROUBLOUS TIMES. 1 99 

to many thousands. "The Presbyterian Church, by this 
act of its highest judicature, thus took its stand at Phila- 
delphia by the side of the American (Continental) Con- 
gress then in session (in the same city) and its influence 
was felt in a most decisive manner throughout the bounds 
of the church." 

The Evil Influence. — The Revolutionary War had a 
lamentably bad effect upon the spirituality of the denom- 
inations of Christians among the colonists, and perhaps 
upon none more than the Presbyterians. To a man they 
were patriots; their ministers were uniformly among 
the foremost in advocating the cause of civil as well as 
religious liberty, and oftentimes they took the lead. As 
far as we know, nearly all the ministers of the gospel who 
did not sympathize with the established church in the 
colonies were Whigs, while the great majority of the rec- 
tors of the Episcopal Church were Tories. During the 
war these incumbents in great numbers left the country 
and returned to their native England, as they had been 
appointed by the Bishop of London to livings in those 
colonies wherein the English church was established. 

The political turmoil which so impaired the spiritual 
condition of the churches began in 1765, when the public 
mind was so deeply disturbed by the Stamp Act. As soon 
as that was repealed other measures, equally as obnoxicus, 
were either adopted or threatened by parliament, and in 
consequence the political agitation among the colonists 
in the form of discussing these affairs was continuous 
until hostilities commenced. From that time forward the 
spirituality of the churches was greatly demoralized, in 
certain vicinities their congregations were scattered and 
their c'huilch buildings desecrated by the British sol- 
dierly. 

During the entire war the Presbyterians were specially 
obnoxious to the officers of the British army. Their min- 



200 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

isters were often hounded by the minions of the former, 
the Tories, while prices were set upon their heads by the 
British military authorities. The vast majority of private 
members of the Baptist, Congregationalist and Presbyte- 
rian churches were Whigs and labored and fought for 
their country, while the Quakers, because of their being 
from principle opposed to war in any respect, desired to 
be neutral, yet in their way they were in the main patriots. 
The private members of the English church wherever it 
was established, were nearly all Tories and owing to their 
church training were opposed to the extension of per- 
fect religious freedom to the dissenters, as they 
contemptuously termed those who differed in their re- 
ligious views from that church. This could be said of 
such private members in the States of Virginia, South 
Carolina and North Carolina. In New England, where 
Congregationalism and Presbyterianism prevailed, the 
Tories were comparatively few when compared with the 
patriots. 

The Two Movements. — During the latter part of the 
hand-to-hand contest between the Virginia Assembly and 
the Presbytery of Hanover, another important movement 
was also in progress throughout the entire Presbyterian 
Church, the discussions in respect to which became more 
earnest immediately after the close of the Revolution and 
the signing of the treaty of peace. The question thus 
agitated was in relation to a plan of church polity that 
could be adapted to the new order of affairs, which had 
grown out of the separation from the mother country. 
These Presbyterian ministers and intelligent laymen took 
comprehensive views of the situation of their church, 
which was now free and untrammeled to extend its influ- 
ence over a continent. It had already crossed the Alle- 
ghanies, and in two divisions — one in East Tennessee and 
Kentucky, the other in Western Pennsylvania — had taken 



THE TROUBLOUS TIMES. 201 

position and founded churches as outposts on the eastern 
edge of the valley of the Mississippi. 

Meanwhile another movement was in progress in re- 
spect to the civil or political relations of the States, in 
which the leading statesmen and intelligent, thinking 
minds took an absorbing interest. The political question 
was in what manner the thirteen States could be consoli- 
dated into one government, for they were now partially 
disintegrated, since the resistance to the common enemy, 
which had held them so long in union, had disappeared, 
when peace was concluded with England. The lengthy dis- 
cussions of these questions of government, both in Church 
and State, no doubt elicited a sympathy that was recip- 
rocal between the leading minds thus engaged ; especially 
can this be said of those statesmen who were members of 
the churches of the several denominations, while in re- 
spect to civil affairs all were deeply interested. 

Kinds of Church Governments. — The leading princi- 
ples of the government of the Presbyterian Church in the 
United States — though modeled somewhat after that of 
the same church in Scotland — were from the first repub- 
lican in form; that is, having the delegates to its judica- 
tures chosen by the people or church members, in order 
that the former might be truly their representatives. This 
mode of government was so constituted that it could be 
adapted to a large or a small number of churches, and also 
to a large or small number of the members of each church. 
As a matter of history, it may be noted that the Presby- 
terian Church established this republican form of govern- 
ment (1705) long before the Declaration of Independence 
was made, and it has continued virtually unchanged in its 
application to the present hour. It is clearly seen that 
this church government is consistent in its principles with 
our republican institutions — both National and State — 
that were afterward established. 
15 



202 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

In contradistinction the mode of church government 
adopted by the Congregationalists and Baptists was dem- 
ocratic in the extreme, and limited to each church, while 
the churches themselves were virtually independent of one 
another in respect to any authorized mode of discipline, 
or of a uniform confession of faith or doctrine. In ac- 
cordance with this theory of government, there could be 
no measures introduced which, in connection with church 
judicatures, could aid practically in bringing the members 
of their own churches throughout the entire country into 
doctrinal and religious sympathy with one another; in- 
stead, each church was so much isolated that its influence 
in consequence was greatly limited. Before the Revolu- 
tion the Church of England in America was governed by 
that of the mother country, and almost without reference 
to the wishes of its church members. Its rectors being 
appointed by the Bishop of London, under whose jurisdic- 
tion the churches of the establishment in the American 
colonies were placed, and, in addition to this arrangement, 
the colonial governors had the absolute authority of in- 
ducting or not as they pleased these rectors into their 
sacred office. 

The genius for systematic government seems, from the 
very first, to have imbued the minds of the ministers of the 
Presbyterian Church, as well as those of its intelligent 
laymen ; the latter always being associated with the former 
in the exercise of such government. This method as- 
sures the individual members of the church that they 
themselves by means of their representatives — the elders 
— have a voice in the management of its affairs; such 
knowledge also enhances their own individual responsi- 
bility to aid in promoting the extension of the gospel 
through the medium of their own church, by means of 
their personal Christian character and their contributions. 

A Comprehensive Church Government. — After the 



THE TROUBLOUS TIMES. 203 

close of the Revolution and when the States were in their 
respective governments independent of one another, it 
would seem the Continental Congress, nominally a legis- 
lative body over all, had little influence, as the laws it 
enacted rose only to the dignity of recommendations. 
The far-sighted ministers and laymen of the Presbyterian 
Church saw the necessity for a more comprehensive appli- 
cation of their system of government in order to promote 
unity of the church throughout the land ; at the same time 
the leading statesmen of the now disintegrated States were 
devising for them a more compact union, and the forma- 
tion of a general government in which all should be com- 
prehended. The former foreshadowed the General As- 
sembly of the Presbyterian Church, and the latter the 
National government of the United States. Both were 
representative bodies; the delegates to the one were duly 
authorized to represent the people or church members ; to 
take cognizance of the fundamental doctrines, and a uni- 
form discipline, and all affairs that related to the well- 
being and prosperity of the whole church, while matters 
of a local nature were left to the supervision of the minor 
judicatures; the other to legislate on all affairs foreign 
and domestic that pertained to the whole Nation, while 
local matters were intrusted to the care of the individual 
States. 

The church was the first to move in inaugurating this 
comprehensive system, and as if these men had a pre- 
vision of the vastness of the territory occupied to-day by 
the Presbyterian Church, the plan was so devised that it 
could be adjusted to all probable exigencies that might 
occur, and in respect to such adaptation it has been found 
adequate. Meanwhile the secular or political world was 
moving on parallel lines in the effort to form a more 
united government under a constitution. 

Discordant and Rival States. — The several States, 



204 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

though neighboring, were virtually independent of each 
other, and history records that they were more or less 
governed by selfish interests, which caused anxiety in in- 
telligent minds, as to whereunto these evils would grow. 
This spirit of gain was specially manifest in the States 
that had suitable harbors, and they yielded to the tempta- 
tion of imposing duties on imported merchandise in such 
manner as to advance each one's own interests irrespective 
of the general effect upon their neighbors. This condi- 
tion of affairs induced the influential men in the several 
States to take measures for remedying these evils by 
bringing about a union, thus consolidating them into one 
government that they might become in fact, as well as in 
the eyes of the world, a Nation. George Washington said 
"We must have a government under one constitution; we 
must treat with other nations as a whole, for we cannot 
separately." This political agitation continued from the 
disbandment of the Continental army to the formation of 
the United States Constitution and its adoption by the 
people (1783- 1 788). During this period of four or five 
years, one or two local conventions were held by dele- 
gates from neighboring districts, but never before from all 
the States did delegates assemble, until in the great con- 
vention held in Philadelphia in 1787, which framed 
the present Constitution of the United States, and under 
which, after it had been adopted by the people, George 
Washington was inaugurated President (1789), and we 
began our national life. 



XXII. 

The General Assembly Arranged For. 

The movement in the Presbyterian Church began prac- 
tically in 1785, when, as preliminary to constituting a 
representative judicature of last resort for the church 
throughout the whole land, a motion was made to divide 
the synod of New York and Philadelphia into three 
synods. The following year the motion was amended so 
as to read three or more synods ; the latter provision cov- 
ered the whole ground, as it left the number of synods to 
be extended according to circumstances, while over all it 
was in contemplation to constitute a General Assembly — 
the delegates to which, were to come as representatives 
from the presbyteries, not from the synods — the former 
being in more direct relations with the people or church 
members. There is not a self-perpetuating judicature in 
the church, since all its members derive their authority as 
such, ultimately from the church members themselves, 
with whom is lodged the power of choosing their repre- 
sentatives, as it is in our civil government. 

Increase of the Church. — A brief notice of the Amer- 
ican Presbyterian Church at this period may interest the 
reader. The synod of New York and Philadelphia had 
been in existence thirty years, and it was now to be di- 
vided into four synods. It had received 230 ministers as 
new members, and had grown from eight presbyteries to 
sixteen, under whose care were 420 churches; of these, 
380 were south of New York State, while in the latter 
were forty. The great body of the ministers were native 



206 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

born and educated in the bosom of the church. The 
others came for the most part from the Presbyterian 
churches in Scotland and North Ireland. The synod had 
(1786) under its control churches on the Atlantic slope 
extending from the State of Connecticut to Florida, and 
also beyond the Alleghanies in Western Pennsylvania and 
in Middle Kentucky. 

Four Synods Organized. — The synod of New York 
and Philadelphia, according to its own resolution, was di- 
vided and arranged into four synods, having the follow- 
ing names: New York and New Jersey, Philadelphia, 
Virginia, and the Carolinas. The first synod included the 
Presbyteries of Suffolk, Dutchess, New York, and New 
Brunswick; the second, those of Philadelphia, Lewes, 
New Castle, Baltimore, and Carlisle; the third, those of 
Hanover, Lexington, Redstone, and Transylvania; the 
fourth, those of Abingdon, Orange, and South Carolina. 
The third or Virginia synod covered by far the greatest 
extent of territory, as it alone extended beyond the moun- 
tains, including the Redstone Presbytery in Pennslyvania 
and the Transylvania in Kentucky. 

It is easily seen that the ministers or pastors of these 
churches, scattered over so extensive a territory, found it 
exceedingly difficult to attend the annual meetings of the 
synod, as required by the rule, and that in consequence 
the important and beneficial influence of such frequent 
and fraternal intercourse was much diminished, but by 
having four synods such advantage could be in a measure 
retained, as the ministers would be more able to attend 
the meetings. 

Alterations in the constitution being required in order 
to apply to the new condition of church affairs, a commit- 
tee was appointed to prepare such constitution. The 
committee was instructed "to examine the Book of Dis- 
cipline and Government, and digest such a system as they 



I 



THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ARRANGED FOR. 207 

should think adapted to the state of the Presbyterian 
Church in America." It was also arranged that this draft 
or plan of the committee should be printed and sent down 
to the presbyteries, "who were required to report in writ- 
ing their observations upon it at the next meeting of 
synod." The committee performed this duty and sent the 
plan to the presbyteries, and the latter presented their 
observations to the synod at its meeting in 1787. After 
thorough discussion and adoption of amendments, the 
plan of government and discipline agreed upon by the 
synod was then ordered to be printed and again sent to 
the presbyteries "for their consideration, and also for the 
consideration of the churches under their care," thus 
recognizing the propriety of consulting the church mem- 
bers. This plan of government was also to be reported 
and acted upon at the meeting of synod the following 
year, 1788. The plan having been discussed and ap- 
proved by the presbyteries and churches was returned to 
the synod, which, in due form, ratified the former's action, 
and resolved : "That the true intent and meaning of the 
above ratification by the synod is that the Form of Gov- 
ernment and Discipline and the Confession of Faith, as 
now ratified, are to continue to be our Constitution and 
Confession of Faith and practice unalterably, unless two- 
thirds of the presbyteries shall propose amendments, and 
these shall be agreed to and enacted by the General Assem- 
bly" (Dr. Hodge, p. 414). 

The General Assembly Constituted. — On the adoption 
of the plan the synod ordered that the General Assembly 
about to be called into existence should consist of delegates 
from the several presbyteries in the ratio of one minister 
and one elder for every six members or ministers belong- 
ing to the presbytery. The synod divided itself into 
four, in accordance with the act of 1786, as already noted. 
Then it was ordered : "That the first meeting of the Gen- 



208 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

eral Assembly to be constituted out of the above synods 
be held at n a. m. on the third Thursday of May, 1789, in 
the Second Presbyterian Church in the City of Philadel- 
phia." Dr. Witherspoon was appointed "to open the as- 
sembly with a sermon, and to preside till a moderator was 
chosen." Its organization being completed, the presby- 
teries were enjoined, in accordance with the rules laid 
down, to elect and send delegates to the assembly which 
was to meet in 1789. 

TheAddress to President Washington. — George Wash- 
ington had been inaugurated President of the United 
States in New York City only a few weeks previous to this 
first meeting of the General Assembly in Philadelphia in 
May, 1789. In this connection we notice two coinci- 
dences. The leading men of the Presbyterian Church and 
the leading men of the States had been moving on parallel 
lines in the effort to secure a more comprehensive govern- 
ment both for the church and the nation. Both went 
into operation within a few weeks of each other, and both 
having remained virtually unchanged for more than a cen- 
tury, give evidence of the excellencies of the respective 
systems, which, as such, have been recognized by the peo- 
ple of the nation and by the members of the church. 

It was under these circumstances that the assembly ap- 
pointed a committee to prepare an address to the President 
of the United States. Its chairman was the celebrated 
Dr. Witherspoon, who was one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, and had been a member of 
the Continental Congress during the troublous times of 
the Revolution, and was now president of Princeton Col- 
lege. Dr. John Rodgers was his alternate. The com- 
mittee's report was quite lengthy, but being appropriate 
in terms and in tone, it was received and approved by the 
Assembly, who directed the presentation to be made. 
After referring to Washington's past career as a soldier, 



THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ARRANGED FOR. 209 

a patriot, and a statesman; to his voluntary retirement 
from public affairs to the longed-for rest and quiet of pri- 
vate life, and especially to his self-denial in the acceptance 
of the office of President, at the unanimous call of the peo- 
ple, they say: "A man more ambitious of fame, or less 
devoted to his country, would have refused an office in 
which his honors could not be augmented. * * * We 
are happy that God has inclined your heart to give your- 
self once more to the public. But we derive a presage 
even more flattering from the piety of your character. 
Public virtue is the most certain means of public felicity, 
and religion is the surest basis of virtue. We therefore 
esteem it a peculiar happiness to behold in our Chief 
Magistrate a steady, uniform, avowed friend of the Chris- 
tian religion, and who on the most public and solemn oc- 
casions devoutly acknowledges the government of Divine 
Providence." They define also their own position, say- 
ing : "We shall consider ourselves as doing an acceptable 
service to God in our profession when we contribute to 
render men sober, honest, and industrious citizens, and the 
obedient subjects of a lawful government." They closed 
with the prayer that God would prolong his valuable life 
and continue him a blessing to his country. To this ad- 
dress Washington replied in appropriate terms, ac- 
knowledging his gratification at their good-will, and co- 
inciding with them in declaring his "dependence upon 
Heaven as the source of all public and private blessings," 
and that "piety, philanthropy, honesty, industry, and 
economy seem, in the ordinary course of human affairs, 
particularly necessary for advancing and confirming the 
happiness of the country." He closed by thanking the 
assembly for their efforts "to render men sober, honest, 
and good citizens, and the obedient subjects of a lawful 
government," and for their prayers for the country and 
for himself. 



2IO A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Doctrinal Truth Guarded. — Doctrinal truth, as em- 
bodied in its standards, has been carefully guarded in the 
Presbyterian Church ever since 1729, when the adopting 
act (page 113) was agreed upon as a rule, by which ex- 
aminations, thenceforth, were required as to doctrine of 
the ministers desiring admission to the church, as well as 
of their own licentiates. This rule had been virtually in 
force and carried out for fifty-nine years. Afterward, in 
1788, when the synods of New York and Philadelphia, as 
we have just seen, took measures to organize a General 
Assembly for the entire church, they also, as a summary 
of Christian doctrine for the same, "ratified and adopted 
the Larger Catechism;" this summary has been in force 
in the church down to the present time. These two his- 
torical facts may account for one peculiarity that has al- 
ways been present in the several divisions and reunions 
that have occurred in times past within the Presbyterian 
Church — not one of them has been on distinctively doc- 
trinal grounds; other causes have intervened. It is true 
there have been within the last half century one or two in- 
stances in the church, in which individual ministers have 
been charged in regular form before their presbyteries with 
holding doctrines inconsistent with the Confession of 
Faith. But these exceptions did not impugn the doctrinal 
faith of the church itself. The charges appear to have 
grown out of misapprehension of the real views of these 
good and eminent men. 

The salutary effect of this care in preserving in their 
purity the doctrinal standards of that church, is mani- 
fested in the uniformity with which the essential truths 
of the gospel are, and ever have been, preached by its 
ministers in good and regular standing. Though, as we 
have seen in relation to its own doctrines and polity, the 
Presbyterian Church is exceedingly strict, yet it is liberal 
toward other evangelical denominations, and deems as 



THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ARRANGED FOR. 211 

valid their rite of baptism in whatever form administered, 
and also recognizes the validity of their ordaining men 
to the sacred office, whether of one order or of three. 

A Christianized Patriotism. — We will, therefore, speak 
only of those advantages that in the future may be the 
outgrowth of the free and untrammeled extension of the 
Presbyterian Church throughout the length and breadth 
of the Union, wherein, with the Divine blessing, it will 
have facilities for applying its principles in developing a 
Christianized patriotism. A patriotism that will have an 
eye not only to the material progress of the country, but 
to the promotion of a practical union of national feeling 
and sympathy between the people of every section ; if they 
all practice the precepts of the golden rule. The type 
of patriotism includes an element unknown to the patriots 
of Greece and Rome. The latter looked no further than 
to promote the public safety and welfare, but only in a 
material point of view — for when did their leading men 
make an effort to elevate the people morally? Christian- 
ity adds the brotherhood of man, a principle that through 
the medium of the churches of every denomination can be 
applied specially to our own household — the American 
people. 

Ex-oMcio Members. — In the meetings of the judicatures 
of the Presbyterian Church, there are, strictly, no ex-of- 
£cio members. The only one that approaches that posi- 
tion is the moderator of a previous assembly, who, by the 
rule, "if present," preaches an opening sermon and pre- 
sides till a new moderator is chosen. In truth, his pres- 
ence depends on a contingency, because his presbytery 
may not send him as their delegate. History demon- 
strates that ex-ofhcio or hereditary members of church 
judicatures or of parliaments — being less in direct sym- 
pathy with the church members or with the people at 
large — are the persistent opponents of changes and meas- 



212 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ures that are designed to result in reforms, and to which 
they seldom give their sanction unless compelled by popu- 
lar pressure ; much less do they lead in such movements. 

Voting by Orders. — The system of voting by orders in 
church judicatures seems to be unfair, unless on the sup- 
position that the members of the higher order have in the 
aggregate as much brains and intelligence as the aggre- 
gate of the same qualifications belonging to the members 
of the lower. The higher house or order has in number 
fewer members, but they are ex-oMcio; the lower has a 
greater number, but who are presumed to be equally edu- 
cated. The result of such rule is, that a vote in the higher 
order, as the case may be, is worth from five to eight 
times as much as one in the lower — its value being in pro- 
portion to the number of members respectively present in 
each order. Nor is the unfairness of voting by orders 
obviated, when it depends upon the contingency of a lim- 
ited minority of either order, demanding that the vote 
should be by orders. Such rule is very liable to be 
abused. It may be known, or supposed, that one order 
is in favor of a certain measure, while the other is not; 
the latter, by using the prerogative of a limited minority, 
can frustrate a full expression of opinion of botn ^.rders 
by preventing a joint vote. 

The mode of constituting the General Assembly of the 
Presbyterian Church leaves the way open from year to 
year for a change in its membership, as it does not ad- 
journ to meet the following year, but dissolves, while the 
choice and election of individual delegates to the next 
assembly depend upon the will of the presbyteries. The 
delegates, therefore, come fresh from the people or church 
members — a principle recognized in constituting the 
lower house of Congress and the House of Commons in 
England, hence the propriety of the rule that financial 



THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ARRANGED FOR. 213 

measures, in which the people are specially interested, 
must originate respectively in these two houses. 

The Ecclesiastical Despotism. — All the Protestant de- 
nominations in the Union act in accordance with the spirit 
of the civil institutions of the land when they recognize 
the right of the laity to have a share in the management 
of their own church affairs. In this respect the govern- 
ment of the Roman Catholic Church is in marked con- 
trast, inasmuch as the rule is entirely in the hands of the 
priests, the laity being rigorously excluded. By this sys- 
tem the intelligent and representative lay members of 
that communion have no opportunity, through being mem- 
bers of church judicatures, for cultivating fraternal and 
Christian intercourse with their fellow-members through- 
out the Union. On the contrary, the government of that 
church is an ecclesiastical despotism ; it ignores the rights 
of its own lay members, and is antagonistic to the spirit 
of our political institutions — State and National. 



XXIII. 

Presbyterian Movements in the South. 

We now resume the narrative. The Presbyterians in 
the southern end of the valley of Virginia continued to 
make inroads on the wilderness on either hand, numbers 
of them following the course of the Holston, formed set- 
tlements in its valley in Southwestern Virginia, and after- 
ward in what is now East Tennessee. These immigrants 
increased so much that to supply their spiritual wants 
more effectively, the Presbytery of Abingdon was erected 
out of that of Hanover. To it was assigned the care of 
the churches in Southwestern Virginia, and in the ad- 
jacent parts of North Carolina, and those in the valley 
of the Holston in Tennessee. Within twelve years the 
Presbytery of Abingdon had under its care nearly forty 
congregations ; of these nineteen were in Tennessee, seven 
in North Carolina and the remainder in Virginia, Num- 
bers of these congregations, however, were without set- 
tled pastors, and were served by the neighboring ministers 
or by missionaries. 

The Migration. — Down the Holston was the southwest- 
ern route of the pioneers of Presbyterianism, thence amid 
the Alleghanies into the valley of the Mississippi ; it cor- 
responded to the northern route, over the same mountains 
to the valleys of the head streams of the Ohio, already 
noted. Out of the Abingdon was carved in 1786 the 
Presbytery of Transylvania, which at first numbered only 
live ministers. One of these five, David Rice, was the 
first Presbyterian minister who went to Kentucky and 



PRESBYTERIAN MOVEMENTS IN THE SOUTH. 215 

who may be deemed the founder of that church in that 
region — he deserves a grateful recognition. After an 
uninterrupted labor of thirty-three years he was per- 
mitted to see his beloved church extended and exerting a 
benign influence throughout the entire State. A man of 
Christian temper and zeal and strengthened by decision of 
character, he commanded the respect of the outside world, 
and the love of church members, so that all joined in 
giving him the affectionate title of "Father Rice." He 
came from Virginia, where he had been a pastor beloved 
for a number of years, to the Territory of Kentucky in 
1783 — nine years before it became a State. A fine scholar, 
a graduate of Princeton; licensed by the Presbytery of 
Hanover and a well-read theologian. In his new home he 
took an advanced position in favor of education. He was 
a staunch friend of Transylvania University, and was for 
many years the president of its board of trustees. He 
battled successfully against errors in theology and the 
peculiar phase of politico-infidelity that was in vogue for a 
time in the State. The Master released him from his 
earthly duties in his eighty-third year (1816), but not 
until he was permitted to see the gospel triumphant 
where once infidelity alone seemed to reign. 

The Presbytery of Transylvania had under its care the 
churches in Kentucky, and even across the Ohio, those in 
the immediate vicinity. An unbroken wilderness of two 
hundred miles intervened between these settlements in 
Kentucky and those in the beautiful valley of the Holston. 
The military grants of land given to settlers within the 
bounds of the Presbytery of Transylvania, induced an 
unusually large immigration of bold and hardy men, who 
had already been schooled in the peculiar trials and risks 
of a wilderness filled with skulking foes. Owing to this 
influx, the population within the bounds of Transylvania 
presbytery soon outstripped that of the Abingdon. 



2l6 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The Three Pioneer Ministers. — The first Presbyterian 
minister that came as pastor to the people on the Holston 
(1773) was the Rev. Charles Cummings, who was a 
member of Hanover Presbytery and had labored a num- 
ber of years in Augusta County, Virginia. One hundred 
and thirty heads of families in two adjacent congrega- 
tions signed the call for his services. The settlers were 
mostly from Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Revolu- 
tionary War was impending and the Indians were hostile. 
Mr. Cummings was often in danger of his life. He never 
went to his church without being armed, as well as the 
other male members of his congregation. On Sabbath 
morning he would "put on his shot-pouch, shoulder his 
rifle, mount his horse and ride to church." After placing 
his arms within reach, he would preach two sermons, with 
a short interval between. For more than thirty years this 
pioneer and devoted servant labored in Tennessee, till the 
Master withdrew him from the work. During this time, 
he, also, performed an immense amount of missionary 
labor among the scattered churches in the region. 

Another strenuous laborer was added to this band of 
Presbyterian ministers when in 1785 Hezekiah Balch came 
as a missionary to the region now known as East Ten- 
nessee. He was a graduate of Princeton, and deeply 
imbued with the importance of education in a community. 
For more than twenty years he was indefatigable in the 
performance of his missionary and pastoral duties. {See 

P- 1 35-) 

In 1788 Robert Henderson was licensed to preach the 
gospel by the Presbytery of Abingdon. He at once en- 
tered upon his duties as a missionary and a fitting co- 
laborer of Mr. Balch. Henderson was unique in his char- 
acter ; a stranger to fear when duty commanded ; no mat- 
ter how hostile the audience, he would fearlessly preach 
the truth. A prevailing sin of the community at that time 



PRESBYTERIAN MOVEMENTS IN THE SOUTH. 217 

was the vulgar and senseless one of profanity. On one 
occasion Henderson determined to rebuke that form of 
vice in a sermon. Though he saw in his audience many 
men of influence, but who were notoriously profane swear- 
ers, instead of being over-awed, his courage never 
wavered, and he lashed them without mercy. He had "a 
matchles power of mimicry and a perfect command of 
voice and countenance and attitude of gesture — his flashes 
of wit or grotesquely humorous illustrations would break 
from him in spite of himself." Then, again, perhaps in 
the same sermon his bold, passionate and grand appeals 
would almost make his hearers tremble, or by his inde- 
scribable and earnest pathos allure them into sympathy 
with his own emotions. He influenced the people who 
were outside the pale of the church almost as much as 
those within it. 

Retarding Influences. — The incident just related re- 
veals a form of immorality that was common among the 
backwoodsmen of that region, and with which the min- 
isters had to contend much more than their brethren in 
Western Pennsylvania. The settlers of the latter, before 
they moved across the Alleghanies into that section from 
New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania, had been better 
trained under gospel influences and were more prosperous 
in worldly affairs than those who migrated from Vir- 
ginia and the Carolinas into the western wilderness. For 
a long time, the latter had been subjected to being bur- 
dened in the form of tithes paid to the established church, 
in addition to the support of their own churches and 
schools. In consequence of these and other drawbacks, 
such as the restrictions imposed by the colonial govern- 
ment in respect to the number and location of meeting- 
houses, the private members of the Presbyterian churches 
from which migrations went into Tennessee and Ken- 
tucky were not on so high a plane of general intelligence 
16 



2l8 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

and of biblical knowledge as those who removed to West- 
ern Pennsylvania. The latter, having more advantages, 
were better trained in their youth by parents and min- 
isters in the knowledge of Bible truths and in the West- 
minster Confession and the catechisms. The population 
on the head streams of the Ohio, had, therefore, in the 
main much more respect for religion and morals, than the 
settlers of East Tennessee and Kentucky. 

The Sabbath Desecrated. — The immigrants to Western 
Pennsylvania, almost from the first, took with them their 
families, while it was many years before their southern 
brethren of Tennessee and Kentucky, because of hostile 
Indians, dared risk that privilege. Being thus deprived 
of the amenities of domestic life, these pioneers became 
quite rude in their manners — to reform which took 
many years. The main portion of these backwoodsmen 
seemed to have left their religion behind, when they 
crossed the mountains. They appeared as reckless of 
personal danger as they were fearless of the consequences 
of sin. Among them that efficient preserver of good 
morals — the Sabbath — was not merely disregarded, but 
was habitually desecrated; in contrast with its being re- 
ligiously and even punctiliously observed among the Pres- 
byterians on the upper Ohio. The custom of horse-racing, 
copied from the Cavaliers of Virginia, though then scarcely 
known in the north, was prevalent in the south. This 
amusement became the occasion of much betting and 
gambling and the kindred vices of drunkenness and pro- 
fanity, and still worse, it was often patronized by men of 
standing in the community, thus giving the sport a certain 
phase of respectability. The Presbyterian ministers 
found it exceedingly difficult to counteract this evil in- 
fluence. On the contrary, in the settlements in the val- 
leys of the upper Ohio the vices of gambling, drunken- 
ness and profane swearing were not much in vogue, as 




Rev. Francis Herron, D. D. 

(271, 272.) 



PRESBYTERIAN MOVEMENTS IN THE SOUTH. 219 

they were under the ban of the greater portion of the peo- 
ple, while horse-racing was unknown. In consequence of 
these characteristics of the population of this southern 
region, a different style of preaching was required from 
that in the northern, where the soil was better prepared 
for the reception of the seed of the gospel and the promo^ 
tion of its growth. 

The Surveyor and His News. — Tradition tells that cer- 
tain of these Southern pioneers, who had advanced into 
the wilderness far beyond the old settlements, had agreed 
for their mutual benefit and to avoid future legal contests 
to have the boundaries of their respective clearings or 
farms definitely and legally fixed by the authorized sur- 
veyor, and their farms entered by land-warrants. An 
official surveyor was sent by the State authorities for the 
purpose, and in anticipation of his arrival, by mutual 
agreement the settlers from far and wide assembled at a 
central position in order to meet him. The place chosen 
was known as the Fork; that is, the junction of the rivers 
Holston and French Broad, which there form the Ten- 
nessee. 

When the surveyor arrived he was questioned eagerly 
as to the news from the old settlements beyond the moun- 
tains. Amid the information of various kinds that he 
communicated, was incidentally mentioned that it was 
rumored a Presbyterian minister named Samuel Carrick 
was to be sent to them as a missionary. The whole as- 
sembly was startled, and still more eagerly they asked 
could it be true that a preacher was coming to them ? The 
special work for which the surveyor had come was for 
the time thrust aside. Conscience was aroused, and these 
rough and stalwart men were overwhelmed with deep 
emotions. The prospect of a minister coming to them 
called to their remembrance the days of their childhood 
and youth when under the tender care of pious parents 



220 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

they had enjoyed the privileges of Christian homes and 
the services of the Lord's day. Amid the excitements 
and dangers of a frontier life, the hallowed influences that 
blest their youth had faded; for years they had been far 
away from Christian sanctuaries; the Sabbath with them 
had no longer been held sacred; they had become reck- 
less of danger and fearless in sin. They at once resolved 
to invite the new minister to visit them and henceforth 
be their pastor. They manifested their sincerity by im- 
mediately taking measures to raise a fund sufficient for 
his support. 

The Founding of a Church. — The surveyor carried back 
the invitation, and also told of the eagerness of these back- 
woodsmen to once more enjoy the religious privileges of 
their youth, and secure them for their own children. At 
length, Rev. Samuel Carrick came (about 1789), and a 
day was named on which he was to preach his first sermon. 
The place chosen for the meeting was an open space in the 
primitive forest, at the Fork, and near an Indian mound. 
On the same spot now stands the Lebanon Presbyterian 
Church. This first sermon was heard by a great crowd, 
some of whom came long distances, even from the adja- 
cent counties, for the news of the preaching was sent far 
and wide. These settlers were all armed with their rifles 
as a guard against the hostile Cherokees, and they were 
clad in the coarse cloth of their domestic manufacture. 

Carrick was most efficient, visiting from settlement to 
settlement and from house to house. Parents presented 
their children for baptism, and resumed their sacramental 
vows, while a blessed religious influence pervaded the re- 
gion. Mr. Carrick finally settled as pastor of the Lebanon 
church in connection with one in Knoxville, across the 
river. After years of labor, Carrick was elected president 
of Blount College — since known as the University of Ten- 
nessee. On entering upon the duties of the office, he re- 



PRESBYTERIAN MOVEMENTS IN THE SOUTH. 221 

signed the pastorate of the Lebanon church, but retained 
that of the one in Knoxville. 

The Planters of the Church in Tennessee. — The min- 
isters, Hezekiah Balch, Robert Henderson, Samuel Car- 
rick, Gideon Blackburn and other worthies, were the men 
who led the way in planting the Presbyterian Church in 
East Tennessee. "They were men of varied gifts, un- 
tiring zeal and entire consecration to their work, and 
were eminently successful." 

Gideon Blackburn deserves a passing notice. He was 
used to hardships, which taught him self-reliance and 
fitted him as no other training could for the sphere of use- 
fulness he was destined to fill in that primitive community. 
Though dissimilar in his ministerial characteristics, he 
was a fitting co-laborer with Henderson. In preaching 
his words, his tone and manner were solemn and im- 
pressive, as though he was overwhelmed with the majesty 
o-f his subject. Thus he carried out his own rule of 
rhetoric, which he once gave his theological pupils : "Get 
your head, your heart, your soul full of your subject, then 
let nature have her own way, forgetting all rule." 
(Sprague's Annals, IV., p. 43.) 

The foundations of the Presbyterian Church were thus 
laid in that new region, where afterward it was widely ex- 
tended, as from time to time came other ministers to aid 
in the cause. 

A Peculiar Type of Infidelity. — The ministers belonging 
to the Transylvania Presbytery in Kentucky were an- 
tagonized by a more complex immorality than their breth- 
ren in East Tennessee. This phase of evil was a type of 
infidelity originating among the French revolutionists 
and which had become popular with these settlers. In 
addition it had a political prestige emanating from the 
National capital, for "JefTersonian influence was as 
strong west as east of the mountains." The French 



222 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

names given to the towns and counties in that region, are 
significant of the sentiment prevailing among people. 

There was an unusual flow of immigrants from Eastern 
Virginia into that fertile region of which Lexington may 
be deemed a central point, and in consequence, the popula- 
tion within the bounds of the presbytery soon outstripped 
in numbers that of the original Abingdon, from which 
Transylvania had been taken (1786). The facilities for 
reaching these distant settlements may account for the 
rapid increase in their population. Instead of threading 
their way from East Tennessee, through a wilderness of 
two hundred miles or more, they passed over the Alle- 
ghanies on the Braddock road, commencing where Cum- 
berland now stands, to Fort Redstone, now Brownsville, 
on the Monongahela, there embarking on capacious flat 
boats, built for the occasion, they floated down that river 
and the Ohio to their destination. 

The Political Clubs. — A number of political clubs were 
formed at central points, such as Paris and Lexington. 
These clubs were branches of the one formed in 1793 in 
Philadelphia, and which prided itself on being modeled 
after the famous Jacobin Club of Paris. (Four Hundred 
Years, etc., p. 583.) "These clubs," says an authority, 
"were politically violent and dogmatic ; morally they were 
corrupting, and in respect to religion, utterly infidel." 
This form of infidelity was vulgarly blatant in its oppo- 
sition to Christianity in any form whatever; the legislature 
catching the spirit dispensed with the services of a chap- 
lain. Through this influence "an apostate Baptist min- 
ister was elected governor of the State," and a sceptic 
placed at the head of Transylvania Seminary — afterward 
university. This institution was founded on the basis 
of Christian truth, and funds were contributed for that 
purpose. The effect of all this was an increase of vice and 



PRESBYTERIAN MOVEMENTS IN THE SOUTH. 223 

dissipation; it is stated that in this portion of Kentucky 
"a decided majority of the population were reputed to be 
infidel/' 

Some of the ministers of the gospel labored faithfully 
in resisting this tide of evil, but the outlook in respect to 
vital religion was gloomy in the extreme, when suddenly 
came the Great Revival — the most remarkable in the an- 
nals of the Presbyterian Church. It swept over a region 
that to human view "was proof against its influence. It 
effectually arrested the universal tide of scepticism and ir- 
religion." This religious movement, though marred by 
some indiscretions that led to a few lamentable effects, 
exerted a power which put in motion influences that ma- 
terially neutralized the evils of the politico-French in- 
fidelity already noted, and for more than a generation 
moulded to a great extent the moral condition of society. 
{See Chap, XXIV.) 



XXIV. 
The Great Revival. 

An efficient instrument of Divine Providence in pro- 
moting this revival was the Rev. James McGready. He 
was a native of Pennsylvania; a student of theology un- 
der Dr. John McMillan; was licensed by the Redstone 
Presbytery, and afterward removing to North Carolina 
commenced preaching in that State in 1788. His own 
spiritual life had been greatly quickened by his having re- 
cently participated in a revival among the students of 
Hampden- Sidney College. He was noted for his de- 
nouncing sin in every form, and in consequence he became 
exceedingly unpopular with those classes whose vices he 
rebuked. The spirit of practical religion that he had just 
witnessed in the revival was in great contrast with the 
conformity to the world and its allurements that he en- 
countered in the community in which were the two 
churches to whom he had come as a pastor. Horse-rac- 
ing, with its attendant gambling, profanity and intemper- 
ance prevailed to an alarming extent, and yet the nominal 
members of the churches were virtually indifferent as to 
the prevalence of these and other vices. 

Mr. McGready labored here for about ten years, in what 
proved to him a training school. His pungent and con- 
tinuous denunciation of the vices common in the com- 
munity, at length, roused against himself personally an 
intense opposition on the part of those who remained un- 
converted. Every effort was used by these parties to 
counteract his influence, so that his preaching in respect 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 225 

to them became an instance of casting pearls before 
swine. He thought it better to seek a new field of labor, 
and he removed to Kentucky, at the invitation of a num- 
ber of his church members, who had recently migrated to 
that region. McGready was then about thirty-three years 
of age and imbued with a spirit of fiery zeal. 

Religious Conditions. — In that State he found a condi- 
tion of society, morally speaking, more irreligious than 
even the one which he had just left, because, in addition 
to the prevalent vices in the latter community, was an un- 
der-current of scepticism, that neutralized almost every 
Christian effort. He took charge of three congregations 
(Jan. 1, 1796), that were located in most unpromising 
neighborhoods. Here he labored with varied success for 
four years. The religious and moral condition of that 
portion of Kentucky was exceptional, when compared 
with any other section of the Union; the lines were 
strictly drawn between a politico-French infidelity and 
Christianity, itself. Davidson, in his History of the 
Presbyterian Church in Kentucky, pp: 102, 107, says: 
"The French mania brought about a leaning to French in- 
fidelity of which Thomas Jefferson, who was idolized as 
a friend of the West, was a notorious advocate. * * * 
At the close of the century, a decided majority of the peo- 
ple were reported to be infidel, and as infidelity is the 
prolific parent of vice, it is not surprising to find that the 
whole country was remarkable for vice and dissipation." 

This condition of affairs affected many of the members 
of the Presbyterian churches, and in consequence Chris- 
tian duties were neglected almost everywhere. Still fur- • 
ther, it was charged by a writer of the time — Crisman, 
historian of the Cumberland church — that some of "the 
ministry aimed at little else than to enlighten the un- 
derstanding. * * * They spoke but little of indi- 
vidual accountability or spiritual regeneration, but of 



2 26 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the elect, the predestined, the preordained. * ■* ■ * 
Members were received into the churches, without pro- 
fessing a change of heart, or being aware of its neces- 
sity. * * * A stiff technical theology or a dry specu- 
lative orthodoxy thus left the heart and conscience un- 
moved." 

At this crisis, when the few earnest Christian men and 
women were in despair came the outpouring of the Holy 
Spirit. It came with such power that the opposition for 
the time was appalled and swept away. We cannot go into 
detail of all the circumstances attending this marvelous 
religious movement, by means of which the moral char- 
acter of the population of an extensive territory, not only 
in Kentucky but in portions of the neighboring States, was 
modified or changed, and gospel truth received an im- 
pulse, which from that day to this has blest the people of 
that entire region. (Gillett II., pp. 158-200.) 

After the work commenced (July, 1799), its influence 
spread rapidly throughout the region, and a few other 
Presbyterian ministers, who were in earnest sympathy 
with the revival entered into the cause with great zeal. 
Prominent among these were Revs. John Rankin, William 
McGee, a Presbyterian, and his brother, a Methodist, 
and William Hodge. The latter and William McGee 
were converted under Mr. McGready's preaching when 
he was in North Carolina. 

Characteristics of the Revival. — There were peculiar 
characteristics of this religious awakening that are well 
authenticated, and to explain which is as difficult to ac- 
count for as the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day 
of Pentecost, if the inspired word had not made known 
the power that moved the souls of men on that occasion, 
while under the preaching of the Apostle Peter. Here in 
these modern days were bold and daring sinners, scoffers 
and blasphemers, some of whom had even come intending 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 227 

to interrupt thest - dligious services, but instead were over- 
come and wept bitterly, bewailing their sins. The emo- 
tions of the soul were so intense that they affected the 
whole physical system. "Many were so struck with deep 
heart-piercing convictions that their bodily strength was 
quite overcome so that they fell to the ground and could 
not refrain from bitter groans and outcries for mercy." 
These manifestations were not confined to any special 
class, but all, old and young, black and white, were af- 
fected, some more, some less. Numbers of professed 
Christians, after a searching examination of their former 
hopes, were awakened to a new and heartfelt religious 
life, and thus the work went on with increasing power for 
a number of years. 

Injurious Divisions, — Unfortunately divisions arose, 
doctrines were preached that were deemed unscriptural by 
many Presbyterian ministers and it became evident to the 
more judicious that such errors, if permitted to remain 
unimpeached, would retard the progress of the revival. 
Extravagancies, the legitimate outgrowth of these errors, 
had already produced evils in some of the churches. From 
the point of view of to-day the ministers who strove to 
avoid these extremes were right in their opposition, as 
the influence of such unscriptural and injudicious meas- 
ures afterward proved. Although they did not sanction 
all the methods used, nor condemn them absolutely, yet 
they held that whatever permanent good that was done 
was through the Holy Spirit and the truth alone. They 
assumed that a genuine "work of God" would bear the 
test of His word. Prominent among these ministers were 
John Lyle, Thomas B. Craighead, Robert Stuart, J. P. 
Campbell and David Rice, who because of his age and dis- 
position was characterized as "Father Rice." The ad- 
vocates of the extreme measures most unjustly stigmatized 
these men as Anti-Revivalists. 



228 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Influence of the Revival Spread. — The news of these 
remarkable religious exercises spread far and wide, and 
great multitudes, impressed by an indefinable feeling on 
the subject, came from long distances to attend these 
services. Congregations one after another were brought 
under the same influence, till the whole region was 
reached, extending in every direction for at least a hun- 
dred miles. The indefatigable McGready visited and 
preached with tremendous power in places more than that 
distance from his home. In many instances these con- 
verts from classes of hardened sinners in expressing their 
thoughts astonished even the preachers themselves. Says 
Mr. McGready : "The good language, the good sense the 
clear ideas and the rational scriptural light in which they 
spoke amazed me. They spoke upon the subjects beyond 
what I could have done."' 

To instruct these multitudes the Presbyterian ministers 
labored incessantly. The meeting-houses were too small 
and during the summer the people thronged the groves in 
many thousands. There were often seen at the same time 
but at different places in the woods great congregations 
— in one instance seven — listening to sermons, but all im- 
pressed by a similar intense conviction of sin. Great num- 
bers of the most careless and God-defying sinners ex- 
perienced a change of heart and who manifested their 
sincerity afterward by living consistent Christian lives. 

Camp Meetings. — The immense crowds that attended 
these services and the lack of buildings of sufficient size 
to contain them afterward led to holding in the summer 
months the larger assemblies in the groves. From the 
latter custom originated camp meetings. Regular en- 
campments were formed at first by having canvas tents, 
but these in turn gave way to light structures made of 
wood, because more permanent, since the same encamp- 
ment was oftentimes used from year to year. Some cen- 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 229 

tral position was chosen that furnished an abundance of 
pure water and a suitable forest. In time the custom of 
having such encampments was so extended throughout 
Kentucky and the neighboring States that a systematized 
form of evangelical work was inaugurated for preaching 
the gospel to the people at large during the summer 
months, when the groves could be thus utilized. This 
mode of holding large assemblies for evangelical work 
was suited to the conditions of the people, and therefore 
they became very popular and equally as useful as a means 
of preaching the word. 

Uneducated Men Licensed to Preach. — These continu- 
ous and extensive revivals called for an unusual number 
of active ministerial workers. The Cumberland Presby- 
tery of Kentucky endeavored to supply such by licensing 
men to preach who had not the usual qualifications re- 
quired in the Presbyterian Church as to their classical and 
theological learning. This proceeding ran counter to the 
sentiment and traditions of its intelligent church members. 
About sixty years (1748) before the time of which we 
write an effort was made under almost similar conditions 
to lower the standard of the education of the ministry. 
That effort signally failed (see p. 166). In connection 
with other irregularities a number of uneducated but zeal- 
ous men were thus licensed to preach. To this proceeding 
the Synod of Kentucky refused to give its sanction, and 
in the course of several years many attempts were made 
to reconcile the parties at variance, and also appeals were 
made to the General Assembly. The sum of the latter's 
final action was to sustain the course of the synod "as 
firm and temperate" in not licensing uneducated men to 
preach, but gave permission for the presbytery to "sanc- 
tion catechists and exhorters." A number of these men 
were of exceptional ability, but over whom "the pres- 
bytery was to keep careful watch and supervision." 



230 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

— Cumberland Presbyterians. — This decision failed to sat- 
isfy a number of the members of the presbytery, and the 
outcome was far-reaching in its influence, no less than 
the founding of the Cumberland branch of American Pres- 
byterianism. There were other impediments, such as doc- 
trinal differences that precluded a perfect adjustment of 
these controversies and the reconciliation of the parties 
at variance, since some of the doctrines preached contra- 
vened the Confession of Faith, while the licensing of un- 
educated men to preach was looked upon as inexpedient 
and fraught with future injury to the church. 

Unavailing efforts were made during a number of years 
to reconcile these differences, but in 1814 the Cumberland 
Presbytery took in hand the Westminster Confession, 
which was "modeled, expunged and added to." In this 
proceeding they apparently "aimed to steer a middle 
course between Arminianism and the confession, reject- 
ing the articles charged with teaching the doctrine of fa- 
tality." The progress of the denomination was rapid, its 
congregations increased in number to sixty; three presby- 
teries were formed and these constituted a synod. Ur.der 
these conditions the General Assembly in 1825 defined 
its position as to the latter to be the same as that of "other 
denominations, not connected with our body." In a Chris- 
tian spirit they each agreed to follow their own way in 
their respective spheres of usefulness. 

The desire to promote education of a high order led in 
1827 to the founding by the denomination of the Cumber- 
land Presbyterian College at Princeton, Kentucky, and to 
which was also attached a theological department. If we 
may judge from the efforts made to-day to supply its 
churches with a thoroughly educated ministry, we would 
infer that the present members think that these good men 
on the point then at issue may possibly have made a mis- 
take in respect to an educated ministry. The rule was 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 231 

again sustained by the General Assembly, as the secession 
of a portion of a single presbytery did not infringe the 
principle involved. The scholarship of the Presbyterian 
ministry has always kept pace with every branch of ad- 
vanced secular and theological education, and to-day the 
former study science much more than scientists study 
theology. 

Another Great Revival. — In this connection we give a 
brief account of a revival which commenced in the autumn 
of 1802, under the ministrations of Rev. Elisha Macurdy 
in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Macurdy was 
a farmer in Ligonier valley, Westmoreland County. 
In his twenty-eighth year he heard a sermon by Rev. 
James Hughes, who was on a missionary tour among the 
scattered Presbyterian churches in that region (1792). 
His attention was arrested by the doctrines expressed and 
warnings given by the preacher, who based them upon the 
word of God. Macurdy bought a Bible and began to ex- 
amine its contents; the result was he professed himself a 
Christian, though afterward he experienced clearer views 
of his acceptance with the Saviour. He determined to 
devote his energies to preaching the gospel and, selling his 
farm to defray the expenses, he entered upon a course of 
study in the Canonsburg Academy. His study of theol- 
ogy was under the direction and instruction of Dr. Mc- 
Millan. 

He finished his course of study in 1798 and was li- 
censed by the Presbytery of Ohio. Immediately he began 
work and as a missionary preached with great zeal and 
acceptance in the vacant churches and destitute settle- 
ments in that region, but ere long he became the pastor 
of two churches — known respectively as Cross Roads and 
Three Springs. Here he labored with remarkable success 
for thirty-five years. 

The Counterpart. — This revival in certain characteris- 



232 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

tics was almost a counterpart of the one commencing in 
Kentucky two years before (1800) under the ministry of 
James McGready. The similarity consisted in the effects 
produced upon those who were convicted of sin, such as 
the physical system being overpowered by the emotions of 
the soul when under a pungent sense of guilt before God. 
But all were not thus affected, as the manifestations were 
varied in kind and in intensity ; derangements of the nerv- 
ous system being more frequent than the loss of physical 
strength. As for the length of time in which such condi- 
tions lasted, some were for only a few minutes, others for 
hours and even days. The mental powers of those thus 
exercised appeared to be intensely active in dwelling upon 
religious realities and things of eternity. Bold and hard- 
ened sinners were awakened and their mental agony was 
so great that often the body of the convicted became seem- 
ingly paralyzed and sank down helplessly. In one in- 
stance so great was the intensity of feeling that the greater 
part of the congregation did not disperse at the usual time 
in the evening, but remained in prayer and exhortation all 
night long and even till near noon the following day. 
There were scenes similar to those witnessed about the 
same time in the revivals in Kentucky, Tennessee and in 
both the Carolinas. 

The Revival Spreads. — Meetings continued to be held 
at central points, as at Mr. Macurdy's churches and others 
in the vicinity. In all these were manifested, more or less, 
similar spiritual effects in the conviction of sin and in the 
powerful influence over the physical system. The revival 
spread to many other churches in the country round about, 
and finally its influence extended to the west into Ohio. 

A calm but interested stranger — Rev. Joseph Badger — 
who happened on one occasion to be present, in writing 
of those who fell says : "They very nearly resembled 
persons who had just expired from a state of full strength. 



THE GREAT REVIVAL. 233 

For a considerable time pulsation could not be perceived. 
Their limbs were wholly unstrung, and respiration was 
scarcely perceptible; yet they retained their reason and 
knew what was said within their hearing." (Gillett, I., 
p. 543.) The preaching was "Calvinistic in sentiment, 
serious, earnest and pathetic. * * * The people were 
carefully instructed that there was no religion in the mere 
falling or in the bodily exercises, and against this idea 
they were repeatedly put on their guard." 

The Contrast. — It may be said in contrast that when the 
revival burst forth in Kentucky it had to contend with the 
united force of a politico-infidelity and an almost univer- 
sal scepticism, but in Western Pennsylvania, while there 
were many unconverted among the people, there was none 
of that blatant infidelity that prevailed in the former State, 
as Christianity had so far indirectly moulded the masi of 
the people that it was held in respect by the unconverted 
in the community. 

It is interesting to note that James McGready, the leader 
in the revival in Kentucky, and also that Elisha Macurdy, 
who bore a similar relation to that in Western Pennsyl- 
vania, were both educated in the Canonsburg Academy, 
and in their theological training were under the direction 
and instruction of Dr. John McMillan. 

In 1805 Mr. Marquis and Mr. Macurdy were commis- 
sioners from the Presbytery of Ohio to the General As- 
sembly of that year, which met in Philadelphia. There 
they learned that certain incidents in this revival were se- 
verely criticised by "some of the ministers in the region 
of Philadelphia, especially those who retained the tradi- 
tions and prejudices of the Old Side." The latter good 
men appeared to ignore that the Westminster Confession 
says the Holy Spirit "worketh when and where and how 
He pleaseth." 

Revivals in New England. — It is proper to note inci- 
17 



234 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

dentally that while these revivals were in progress in Ken- 
tucky and Western Pennsylvania there were also remark- 
able outpourings of the Holy Spirit in New England, es- 
pecially in Connecticut and Massachusetts. These re- 
vivals commenced in Maine and continued for a number 
of years with more or less power to spread from congre- 
gation to congregation, and thus in one sense they were 
local, though they extended finally throughout that sec- 
tion of the Union, and far into the first quarter of the 
present century. In writing of these scenes the celebrated 
Edward D. Griffin, then a pastor in Hartford, Conn, says : 
"I could number fifty or sixty continuous congregations 
laid down in one field of divine wonders and as many more 
in different parts of New England." In 1802 a revival 
remarkable for its power occurred in Yale College. 



XXV. 

The Way Prepared for the Plan of Union. 

We have seen in the early colonial times in New Eng- 
land that the Congregationalists and the Presbyterians 
cooperated in their religious work, and while the form 
of church government was virtually reckoned a matter of 
expediency, uniformity in respect to Christian doctrine 
was deemed essential in order to the perfect harmony of 
the two denominations. We have already noted that even 
before, but especially soon after, the close of the Revolu- 
tion large migrations composed mostly of Presbyterians 
crossed the Alleghanies into the fertile valleys of the head- 
streams of the Ohio, and also that a little later during the 
same period similar migrations crossed the same moun- 
tains further south into the rich and beautiful valleys of 
the head-streams of the Tennessee. 

The middle and lower portions of the valleys of the 
Hudson and the Mohawk had been partially occupied by 
settlers nearly a century before the time of which we write 
and who for the most part belonged to the Church of Hol- 
land. Afterward came in Presbyterians, whose doctrinal 
creed harmonized with that of the latter church, while 
both recognized the parity of the ministry and a form of 
church government in which the church members were 
represented by laymen. A large emigration of Protest- 
ants — Lutherans — some five thousand, it is said, came 
from the Palatinate in Germany and settled in the valley 
of the Mohawk (1707). They were induced to come by 
grants of land given by the government of Queen Anne, 



236 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

and on the condition they would settle on the frontiers of 
the colony. Some time afterward came an immigration of 
Scotch Presbyterians, who took up lands and made their 
homes principally in the region north of Albany, and 
whose number was increased from time to time by others 
from their native land. In addition, in 1740 came to the 
same colony an entire congregation of Presbyterians under 
the direction and pastoral care of their minister, Rev. Sam- 
uel Dunlop. They migrated from Londonderry, New 
Hampshire, and settled in Cherry Valley; to the former 
place they had previously come from Scotland and the 
north of Ireland. Air. Dunlop afterward (1763) became a 
member of the Presbytery of Dutchess County. Thus was 
prepared the way for the promotion of evangelical religion 
in that entire region. 

Lines of Migration. — Owing to climatic reasons, people 
in the United States, when they migrate from one portion 
of their country to another, do so mostly on or near the 
same parallels of latitude on which they have been accus- 
tomed to live. Thus while the migrations across the 
mountains just mentioned were going on, others on the 
same principle were in progress further north, for New 
Englanders, chiefly from Connecticut and Massachusetts, 
were pouring into the valleys of the Hudson and the Mo- 
hawk and the lake region of Central New York. These 
streams of people were mostly Congregationalists, and 
they located as circumstances dictated side by side with 
the Dutch and the Presbyterians, and generally blended 
with the latter in their church relations and Christian fel- 
lowship, since both were agreed as to the essential doc- 
trines of the gospel. Meanwhile to aid in supplying the re- 
ligious wants of the people in these numerous settlements 
ministers as missionaries came from New England, who 
often preached to congregations composed of members 
of the three denominations mentioned. 



THE WAY PREPARED FOR THE PLAN OF UNION. 237 

Losses and Regains. — The churches of this entire re- 
gion had unwonted trials and disasters during the French 
and Indian War (1753-1763), and afterward during the 
Revolutionary period. They were on or near the routes 
of the several invasions first by Indians from Canada and 
afterward by the British under Burgoyne. After the Rev- 
olution those who had been driven away returned to their 
desolated homes, and in time began to rebuild their 
churches. As soon as peace was assured the population in 
this fertile region began to increase rapidly and the 
churches also in a similar proportion, but even faster than 
pastors could be obtained to supply them. Such was the 
condition of the religious affairs of these settlements some 
years before and after the year 1800. 

Interest in Missions. — It is remarkable that about this 
time special attention was directed almost simultaneously 
to missionary work amid the comparatively frontier settle- 
ments, and among the Indians who were yet living along 
the western borders of the States. This missionary spirit 
seemed to pervade the entire country, and the different 
denominations — Reformed Dutch, the Baptists, the Con- 
gregationalists, the Presbyterians and the Associate Re- 
formed. The first to enter the field was the Missionary 
Society of New York, Nov. 1, 1796; soon after was formed 
the Northern Missionary Society, designed to operate 
specially in the northern and western portion of the State. 
The following year (1797) the General Association of 
Connecticut formed itself, as it were, into an ex-officio 
missionary society. Then in 1798 the Massachusetts so- 
ciety was formed; and soon after another, the Berkshire 
Columbian, was organized in the western part of the State. 
In Pittsburg (October, 1802) was organized the Western 
Missionary Society by the Synod of Pittsburg. Such were 
the comparatively feeble beginnings of domestic missions 
for those destitute of gospel privileges in our own land, 



238 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the same influence expanded and ere long took in the for- 
eign field. This liberal Christian spirit manifested itself 
in the increased intercourse between the different denom- 
inations and their uniting with one another for the greater 
efficiency in the work. The custom was introduced of 
interchanging ministerial services, as well as that of fra- 
ternal letters passing back and forth between their re- 
spective church judicatures. The General Assembly en- 
tered heartily into the "plan for correspondence and inter- 
course." At this time a vast field was opened to mis- 
sionary work, one which extended from Middle New York 
across Pennsylvania and into Eastern Ohio, where multi- 
tudes of settlers were coming in from New England. They 
found homes for the most part on the territory known as 
the Western Reserve, which territory then belonged to 
Connecticut. 

Plan of Union Suggested. — When Dr. John Blair Smith 
was president of Union College, a young Congregational 
minister — Eliphalet Nott — who had been sent by the As- 
sociation of Connecticut as a missionary to the "settle- 
ments" in New York State, on his journey stopped at 
Schenectady and by invitation spent a night with the 
president (1795). They discoursed on the situation of the 
churches in the region round about, and also on the sev- 
eral points of doctrine that were held in common by the 
Congregationaiists and the Presbyterians — the form of 
church government being held by both parties as non- 
essential. In the course of the conversation President 
Smith, after describing the religious condition of the sev- 
eral settlements, in thus having two distinct ecclesiastical 
organizations when both were orthodox in their views, 
asked : "Would it not be better for the entire church that 
these two divisions should make mutual concessions and 
thus effect a common organization on an accommodation 
plan, with a view to meet the conditions of communities 



THE WAY PREPARED FOR THE PLAN OF UNION. 239 

so situated?" (Gillett, I., p. 396.) This young and elo- 
quent minister was won over to the views of President 
Smith, and being also encouraged by a number of Con- 
gregationalists and Presbyterians he labored earnestly 
in the cause and the result was that numerous churches in 
that portion of the State were formed or strengthened in 
their work by their union with one another on this ac- 
commodation plan. Mr. Nott was induced by President 
Smith to accept the pastorate of the Presbyterian church 
in Albany (1798), to which he had been invited; six years 
later he became president of Union College — a position of 
great influence, and which he filled admirably. 

Presbyterial Form Preferred. — It appears that at this 
time the sympathy of the Congregational churches of Con- 
necticut was in favor of a virtual presbyterial form of 
church government (as they stood on "the semi-Presbyte- 
rian Saybrook platform"). The following statement in 
1799 of the views and church polity of the Hartford Asso- 
ciation shows that the constitution of its churches "is not 
Congregational, but contains the essentials of the govern- 
ment of the Church of Scotland or the Presbyterian 
Church in America." This is further illustrated by the 
statement that the "decisive power of ecclesiastical coun- 
cils and consociation consisting of ministers and messen- 
gers or a lay representation from the churches, is pos- 
sessed of substantially the same authority as presbytery." 
"As the eighteenth century drew toward a close, Connec- 
ticut's sympathies went out increasingly toward fellowship 
with the Presbyterian Church of the Middle States. Mas- 
sachusetts, on the other hand, came to represent an in- 
creasingly independent type of Congregationalism." 
(Church Hist. Series, Vol. III., p. 209 — Walker.) This 
polity of Connecticut is radically different from that put 
forth as the principles on which the original Congrega- 
tional Church in Massachusetts was founded. (See p. 71.) 



240 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The Plan Proposed. — The General Association of Con- 
necticut proposed to the General Assembly in 1801 "A 
plan of union/' which proposal was accepted by the latter 
body. In brief, the following regulations were agreed 
upon : A Presbyterian minister might be the pastor of a 
Congregational church and still continue his relations to 
his presbytery; and a Congregational minister might be 
the pastor of a Presbyterian church and still remain a 
member of his association. In case of trial the Presby- 
terian might appeal to his presbytery, or to a mutual coun- 
cil equally composed of Presbyterians and Congregation- 
alists. In the case of the Congregationalist he might ap- 
peal to a mutual council or to presbytery; in the latter 
a delegate of the church had the right to sit and act as a 
ruling elder. In a Congregationalist church the male 
communicants constitute the session; in a Presbyterian 
the session or eldership is chosen by the church members 
as their representatives. 

The preaching of the gospel in these peculiar circum- 
stances was deemed paramount to technical or strictly ec- 
clesiastical forms. Apparently the plan was designed to 
be temporary, since in respect to the church polity of each 
denomination it was a divergence and used only as an 
expedient. It will be noticed that the presbyteries were 
not overtured on this occasion by the assembly in ac- 
cordance with the book and the usual custom ; and that the 
Association of Connecticut in accordance with its consti- 
tution had no legislative authority in the premises. 

Why the Churches Prospered. — The progress of the 
churches was much stimulated by the adoption of the 
Plan of Union, which enjoined "mutual forbearance and 
accommodation," as it enabled the ministry to be better 
utilized ; when it required only one to supply the religious 
wants of the town or neighborhood, instead of two as here- 
tofore, one was thus freed to preach elsewhere. This 



THE WAY PREPARED FOR THE PLAN OF UNION. 241 

spirit of union pervaded the Christian community and the 
Middle Association — Congregational — was invited to be- 
come a constituent branch of the Synod of Albany, if the 
approval of the General Assembly could be obtained. This 
was secured with the understanding that the churches 
of the association could continue in their own mode of 
government, unless they would voluntarily adopt the Pres- 
byterian form. The assembly (1808) gave its sanction to 
this arrangement. The jurisdiction of the associaiion 
and that of the Presbytery of Geneva were virtually within 
the same limits. The three presbyteries of Albany, Colum- 
bia and Oneida were constituted by the Synod of Albany 
.(1803), afterward the Presbytery of Oneida was divided, 
and from it the Presbytery of Geneva was set off, and 
from the latter was afterward formed the Presbytery of 
Onondaga. 

Reasons for Material Prosperity. — The material prog- 
ress of the entire State of New York, up the Hudson and 
the Mohawk and through the lake region to Lake Erie, 
was very rapid, owing in part to the immense migration 
from New England, especially from Connecticut and Mas- 
sachusetts. These immigrants brought with them their 
love for the church and the school-house, and in that re- 
spect they had the full sympathy of those already in the 
field. Villages were increasing in number, while the fer- 
tile lands were rapidly brought under cultivation, and soon 
the wheat fields of the Genesee valley became famous. 
Further on the opening of the Erie canal (1825), connect- 
ing the lakes with the Atlantic through the Hudson, gave 
a new impulse to this migration from the East, while the 
increase in the native population was in an equal ratio. 

Results of Christian Effort. — The several missionary 
societies were active in sending supplies of ministers to 
meet the the religious wants of the settlements of the 
whites, and also to the Indians yet remaining in the State. 



242 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

As a result of these efforts as reported to the General As- 
sembly of 1810, the number of ministers in the western 
portion of the State had in eleven years increased from two 
to nearly fifty. The local societies were active in the cause, 
but mainly through the distribution of religious tracts 
and books. These operations required funds and the whole 
church was more than usually stimulated to provide the 
means to support missionaries and other general ex- 
penses. 

Effects of the Great Revival. — The influence of the great 
revival in Kentucky had extended north of the Ohio river 
and, as already noted, into Western Pennsylvania and 
thence to Western and Middle New York. Magazines 
were established for the purpose of diffusing religious in- 
formation, while the assembly and the Connecticut Asso- 
ciation went hand in hand in promoting the good work. 
At this period and for a number of years there was a 
general progress of religion in the form of revivals in 
almost every presbytery in some of the States, in North 
and also in South Carolina, in the Valley of Virginia, New 
Jersey and especially in Western Pennsylvania. The out- 
pourings of the Holy Spirit were remarkable, and the in- 
fluence of the gospel was often manifest in the change pro- 
duced in the morals of society in general and in the new 
life that inspired the churches. 

Standing Committees. — In 1802 the assembly appointed 
a "Standing Committee of Missions/' It consisted of 
seven members, four ministers and three laymen ; its duty 
was to take cognizance of the progress of missionary work 
during the year and report the same to the assembly. This 
committee was afterward increased to twelve; the five 
additional members were appointed from Philadelphia 
and vicinity in order for the convenience of a quorum 
being more easily convened. At that time the impression 
was abroad that as the Presbyterian Assembly had a char- 



THE WAY PREPARED FOR THE PLAN OF UNION. 243 

ter as to its temporalities from the State of Pennsylvania, 
it could not legally meet and transact business in any other 
State. 

The subject of ministerial education was not in the 
meantime overlooked, but greatly promoted by the con- 
tributions of the church members. Each synod was at lib- 
erty to designate a professor of theology, . to whom stu- 
dents could resort for instruction ; this measure was the 
harbinger of regularly constituted theological seminaries. 

The Sad Interruption. — At this period the religious 
progress of the entire country was sadly interrupted. The 
Napoleon wars in Europe brought about misunderstand- 
ings that were followed by numerous aggressions in con- 
sequence of which the American people suffered greatly, 
especially in their trade apon the ocean and in the viola- 
tion of the rights of their seamen, so that Congress thought 
itself justified in declaring war against Great Britain 
(June 18, 1812). {Four Hundred Years, etc., pp. 623- 
628.) The war itself lasted nearly three years, but in- 
cluding the public turmoil before and after it, the period 
was about five, during which a demoralizing moral influ- 
ence permeated the whole land and very much retarded the 
legitimate work of all the churches. 

During the period of religious disaster caused by the 
war and its concomitant evils the assembly appointed each 
successive year a day of fasting and prayer. Amid the 
general moral gloom that rested upon the churches, there 
were isolated cases of revivals in different portions of the 
land ; some of these were quite extensive, and the assem- 
bly was cheered by reports of "scenes resembling those of 
Pentecost." 

Efforts in Favor of Temperance. — The subject of in- 
temperance, because of its evils, began about this time to 
attract almost universal attention, and it was proposed to 
arrest its widespread influence. The first effort was made 



244 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

from a medical point of view by the celebrated Dr. Benja- 
min Rush of Philadelphia in a pamphlet entitled: "An 
Inquiry into the Effects of Ardent Spirits on the Human 
Body and Mind." This pamphlet by order of the Gen- 
eral Assembly was widely distributed. 

In 1811 the General Associations of Massachusetts 
and of Connecticut and the assembly each appointed a 
committee to investigate the subject of intemperance and 
to cooperate in devising measures to restrain its prog- 
ress. The Connecticut committee reported the following 
year, but was unable to devise any definite plan to remedy 
or remove these evils, which were increasing from )ear 
to year. In those days, strange to say, rum and whisky 
were both used as beverages even at ordinations and in- 
stallations of ministers of the gospel. The baneful influ- 
ence of the custom was not then fully realized by either 
the ministers or the members of the church, and much less 
by the people outside such relations. 

Reports on Temperance. — Dr. Lyman Beecher was pres- 
ent when the report of the committee of the Association 
of Connecticut was made ; he at once moved another com- 
mittee to report on the subject as soon as possible to the 
association (1812). He was named its chairman and as 
such prepared the report, which by its cogent reasoning 
and illustrations startled the members who realized, as 
never before, the enormous evils of the custom of using 
spirituous liquors as a common beverage. The report 
glowed with the peculiar and vivid eloquence of its au- 
thor; it was soon afterward followed by his sermons on 
the evils of intemperance; the latter were widely read 
and approved by the intelligent and well-disposed citizens 
of the land. 

The assembly adopted the report of their committee and 
recommended their ministers "to preach as often as ex- 
pedient on the sins and mischiefs of intemperate drink- 




Rev. Charles Coffin. D. D. 

(330, 33i-) 



THE WAY PREPARED FOR THE PLAN OF UNION. 245 

ing and to warn their hearers, both in public and private, 
of those habits and indulgences which may have a ten- 
dency to produce it." It went further, and urged vigilance 
on the part of the sessions of the churches to use means 
by sermons and the circulation of tracts on the evil and 
to make efforts to limit the sale of intoxicating drinks. 



XXVI. 

Presbyterian Worthies. 

It is fitting to recognize, though for lack o£ room very 
briefly, the worth of some of that galaxy of self-denying, 
learned and devoted Presbyterian ministers who during the 
latter portion of the last and the first half of the present 
century exerted a grand and consecrated influence. This 
they did as pastors directly upon the members of their own 
churches, but indirectly throughout the Union in originat- 
ing the benevolent institutions that are to-day in their re- 
spective fields grand promoters of various forms of use- 
fulness. These worthies, so prominent, were nobly aided 
and sustained by multitudes of their brother ministers of 
lesser note, whose names, perhaps, have been forgotten 
in this generation or found only in the stored-away records 
of their respective presbyteries. 

Taggari, Dana, Morrison. — In the east was Rev. Sam- 
uel Taggart of the Presbytery of Londondery, New 
Hampshire . He combined consistently the statesman with 
the sacred office, being a member of Congress for several 
terms. A man of devoted piety and remarkable for his 
mental powers of memory and logical acumen. Dr. Daniel 
Dana of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and Dr. William 
Morrison, also of Londonderry, were men of far-reaching 
influence as pastors and of talents and learning that com- 
manded the respect of the community in which they lived. 

B latch ford, Nott, Porter. — In Northern New York was 
Dr. Samuel Blatchford of Lansingburg; a gift to the 
Presbyterian Church from the English Independents, a 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES. 247 

devoted friend of learning, philanthropy and missions ; in 
the pulpit instructive and of wide influence. With him 
was associated Dr. Eliphalet Nott, president of Union 
College, who towered above his peers in sacred eloquence, 
and noted as a teacher and also as a moulder of the char- 
acters of the young men brought under his magic influ- 
ence. Dr. David Porter of Catskill, a master in theology, 
and of keen sympathies, eccentric but of clear judgment. 
At Bridgehampton, Long Island, was Aaron Woolworth, 
a promoter of revivals in which he was greatly blessed, 
whose daily life "was a fragrance of goodness." 

Rod gets, P.errine,Romeyn,Spring. — In the City of New 
York prominent among the Presbyterian clergymen were 
Dr. John Rodgers, Dr. Matthew L. Perrine, pastor of 
Spring Street Church; Dr. John BroadheadRomeyn of the 
Duane street, and Dr. Gardiner Spring of the historic 
Brick Church. One of the remarkable men of the period 
was Dr. John Rodgers, who was trained in the classical 
school of Dr. Samuel Blair, at Fagg's Manor. He was 
intimately connected as pastor with two Presbyterian 
churches in New York — the "Old" First and the "His- 
toric" Brick, an offshoot of the First. During the Revolu- 
tion he was compelled to flee the city, but meantime was 
chaplain of Gen. Heath's brigade which guarded the Hud- 
son in the Highlands. The British evacuated New York 
on November 25, 1783; the following day Dr. Rodgers re- 
turned home to find both church buildings desecrated and 
almost ruined by the British, while the number of the 
church members was much diminished by death and re- 
movals. By his energetic labors these buildings were soon 
repaired, meanwhile the Presbyterians by invitation wor- 
shiped in the Episcopal churches St. George and St. Paul. 

In every important movement in the church we always 
find Dr. John Rodgers prominent; he was the moderator 
of the first General Assembly (1789). He was a strong 



248 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

advocate for renewing the fraternal intercourse that had 
been suspended during the war between the Congrega- 
tionalists of New England and the Presbyterians, "as 
brethren so nearly agreed in doctrine and forms of wor- 
ship." He was blessed with mental ability of a high order, 
and a remarkable symmetry of Christian character; far- 
seeing but not visionary; never acting till he saw clearly 
his way. He commanded the respect of the entire com- 
munity and his influence was almost unbounded. He lived 
to a good old age and was succeeded in his pastorate of the 
Brick Church in 1810 by Dr. Gardiner Spring. 

Dr. Matthew La Rue Perrine was installed pastor of 
the Spring Street Church in 181 1. Here he spent nine 
years most usefully. Because of his gentle disposition 
and religious zeal he was characterized as "the beloved 
disciple," and because of his tact and prudence "as wise 
as a serpent and harmless as a dove." He was afterward 
chosen for a higher sphere of usefulness in teaching candi- 
dates for the ministry as professor of church history and 
polity in the Auburn Theological Seminary. 

Dr. Romeyn came into the Presbyterian denomination 
from the Reformed Dutch Church. He was licensed when 
only twenty-one years of age; after filling acceptably as 
a minister one or two positions he was installed as pastor 
of the First Presbyterian Church in Albany (1804). This 
was a trying ordeal for the youthful pastor, as that city 
was the capital of the State, and to it was attracted "a 
large amount of cultivated intellect and professional emi- 
nence ; and during the sessions of the legislature, particu- 
larly, the church was thronged with strangers — manv of 
them persons of distinction, from various parts of the 
State." 

Considerations in respect to his own health and that of 
his wife induced him to accept a call to the Cedar Street 
Church, New York, which afterward removed to Duane 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES. 249 

(1808). He was its pastor for sixteen years. Never 
blessed with robust health, yet he labored on incessantly; 
his influence was felt and appreciated throughout the 
church, if we may judge from the important positions he 
was called upon to fill, one of which was in his thirty- 
third year to be moderator of the General Assembly. He 
was ever active in promoting the then infant benevolent 
institutions of the day and church. Especially were his 
labors blessed among the youth, and more young men be- 
came ministers from his congregation than from any other. 
He instituted catechetical classes, which were crowded by 
the young ladies regularly attending his Bible class, which 
was held especially for them ; every one, it is said, became 
a professor of religion. Many of the most active mem- 
bers of the benevolent societies of the time were from the 
men trained under him. (S Prague's Annals, IV., p. 216.) 
The Duane Street Church under the pastorate of Dr. 
James W. Alexander moved to Fifth avenue and Nine- 
teenth street (1854), and afterward under that of the 
late Dr. John Hall to Fifty-fifth in the same avenue 

(1875)- 

Dr. Gardiner Spring had intended to devote himself to 
the legal profession, but becoming deeply impressed 
in reflecting on religious subjects he changed his 
views and studied for the ministry. He succeeded 
Dr. John Rodgers of the Brick Church in New 
York in 18 10, and for more than half a cen- 
tury he was an influential pastor and among the fore- 
most of the Presbyterian clergymen of the day in pro- 
moting every work that aided the cause of Christ, as in 
the formation of the American Bible Society, in which he 
took an active part. He was at all times equally as zealous 
in advocating missionary societies — foreign and domestic 
— and other benevolent institutions. 

Richards, Griffin. — In New Jersey's chief city were the 
18 



250 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

famous ministers, Dr. James Richards and Dr. Edward 
Dorr Griffin. The former by his practical wisdom and 
unfeigned piety was looked up to as a safe guide in all 
matters pertaining to ecclesiastical affairs. Dr. Griffin was 
remarkable for his imposing personal appearance, being 
of unusual stature and of symmetrical proportions, while 
his intellect was equally grand in its power and acquire- 
ments. Previous to his coming to Newark he had been 
pastor of Park Street Church, Boston, where he labored 
successfully in behalf of the essentials of Christianity in 
opposition to the most talented and learned advocates 
of Unitarianism, then in the height of its influence and 
which its devotees wielded with consummate skill. Dr. 
Griffin was an ardent promoter of all the benevolent in- 
stitutions of the day and church till his death, November 
8, 1837. 

Green, the Alexanders, Miller, Finley. — Dr. Ashbel 
Green was inaugurated president of Princeton College in 
1812. He exerted an almost boundless influence over the 
minds of the students, then collected from all portions 
of the Union. He was very decided in his views, which 
he persistently labored to carry out to their legitimate re- 
sults. In manners of the old school, courteous but digni- 
fied and grave in his demeanor, standing by his convic- 
tions, which sometimes appeared to close observers to 
be near akin to theories. He took for many years a very 
active part in the ecclesiastical affairs of the Presbyterian 
Church. He has been styled "the connecting link between 
the old times and new." 

Dr. Archibald Alexander was inaugurated August 12, 
1812, the first professor of Didactic and Polemic The- 
ology in Princeton Seminary. Here for more than thirty 
years he exerted an almost unbounded influence over many 
hundreds of theological students to the great advance- 
ment of the gospel and of the Presbyterian Church. He 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES. 251 

was a native of Virginia, where his example as an effi- 
cient pastor and preacher was highly appreciated by his 
brethren in the ministry and by the church at large, as 
were the same traits when afterward a pastor in Phila- 
delphia. He married a daughter of the celebrated James 
Waddel, the "Blind Preacher," whom William Wirt so 
graphically describes. Dr. Alexander's sons, James Wad- 
del and Addison, also (the one as a preacher and writer, 
the other as a professor) exerted in their respective 
spheres of usefulness a direct and blessed influence in the 
Presbyterian church. In the same seminary was Dr. Sam- 
uel Miller (1813), professor of Ecclesiastical History and 
Church Government. An urbane, scholarly gentleman, 
who in his special line of instruction was not inferior to 
that of his illustrious compeer, while the influence of his 
symmetrical Christian character was a power of itself. 

Dr. Robert Finley, when quite a young man, because of 
his acquisitive mind and stability of character, gave an 
earnest of his future usefulness. At the age of six- 
teen he graduated at Princeton, and in that institu- 
tion he served two years as tutor of the eight which he de- 
voted to teaching. We find him in 1795 pastor of the 
church at Baskinridge, New Jersey, where he was re- 
markably successful in his ministrations. In order to 
give to his people more than usual biblical knowledge he 
established special classes for the purpose. Having thor- 
oughly tested the method, and finding it the source of great 
edification to his own congregation, he laid the matter 
before the General Assembly (1815). After explanations 
and the account of the beneficial results, the assembly en- 
dorsed the plan and cordially recommended the practice 
to all its ministers and pastors. Here was the commence- 
ment of the system of Bible classes, which to-day are so 
numerous and so blessed in their influence. 

In 1 8 16 he devised the plan for planting a colony in 



252 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Africa, to which free colored men could emigrate and find 
homes for themselves and their families. He went to 
Washington City and in his intercourse with members of 
Congress and the officials of the government, secured the 
formation of the African Colonization Society, which ul- 
timately founded the republic of Liberia. The first presi- 
dent of this society was Bushrod Washington. 

Afterward Dr. Finley became president of Georgia Uni- 
versity at Athens, in that State. But his intense labors 
and the debilitating effect of a climate to which he was not 
accustomed speedily ended his useful life, October, 1817. 

Janeway, Wilson, Skinner, Ely, Patterson. — This cata- 
logue of marked and efficient ministers found a counter- 
part in Pennsylvania, where lived and labored among other 
worthies Dr. Jacob J. Janeway, James Patriot Wilson, 
Thomas H. Skinner, Ezra Stiles Ely and James Patterson. 

Dr. Jacob J. Janeway, long pastor of the Second Pres- 
byterian Church, Philadelphia, exerted a beneficent influ- 
ence, not limited to the city alone, but throughout the 
denomination. He was a native of New York City and a 
graduate of Columbia College (1794). He studied the- 
ology under the direction of Dr. Livingston of the Re- 
formed Dutch Church. After remaining as colleague and 
pastor for twenty-seven years Dr. Janeway accepted a pro- 
fessorship in the Presbyterian Theological Seminary at 
Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, which he resigned after 
four years of service. His efforts were afterward specially 
directed to the promotion of a number of the benevolent 
enterprises of the church. The latter for the most part 
had been instituted within recent years and were gradually 
developing into fields of almost unbounded usefulness. 

James Patriot Wilson — of Scotch-Irish descent — was 
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia 
from 1806 to 1830. He was a graduate of the Univer- 
sity of Pennsylvania (1788) and after studying law he 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES. 253 

entered upon its practice and obtained a reputation as a 
lawyer not exceeded by any one in his native State, Dela- 
ware. Sorrows crossed his path which had the effect, 
first of neutralizing his skeptical opinions and finally of 
leading him to become a Christian and to enter upon the 
gospel ministry. His talents commanded the respect of 
all, and being "the model of a Christian gentleman" he 
became one of the leading spirits of the Presbyterian 
Church and perhaps its foremost minister. An ardent 
student, with a disciplined mind, he was able to utilize 
his learning for the benefit of his fellow men. Of a logical 
mind, his sermons were well arranged and studied, though 
he never used a note in the pulpit. His aim was ever to 
elucidate the true meaning of the Scriptures and make 
the application to his hearers of the principles contained 
therein. He was one of the most learned men of the day. 
Dr. Thomas H. Skinner was pastor of the Fifth Presby- 
terian Church of Philadelphia after having been some 
time co-pastor with Dr. Janeway in the Second Church. 
Within the latter difficulties arose. Some of the church 
members attributed to him "Hopkinsian tenets," when he 
"was decidedly Edwardian" in his preaching and in his 
theological views. The latter was misinterpreted, and in 
consequence charges of heresy were brought before the 
presbytery and by that body he was triumphantly vindi- 
cated. He remained pastor till his vindication was secured, 
when he resigned and a portion of the church members 
who sympathized with him also withdrew (November 5, 
1815). Almost immediately he was invited to the Fifth 
Church, situated on Locust street, but in an undesirable 
location, the congregation being also in a very depressed 
condition. Here he labored faithfully for seven years, 
when he received a call to New Orleans (1822). In order 
to induce him to remain the place of the church building 
was changed to a more suitable locality, that of Arch street, 



254 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

where a commodious edifice was erected. Within a short 
time, when occupied, it was crowded with large assem- 
blies, who were fascinated by the earnest and logical pre- 
sentation of gospel truth. For a number of years Dr. 
Skinner remained a successful pastor of this church. 
Afterward he was a professor in Andover Theological 
Seminary, then pastor of the Mercer Street Church in 
New York and finally a professor in Union Theological 
Seminary in that city. 

Ezra Stiles Ely, pastor of the Third Church and suc- 
cessor of Dr. Archibald Alexander, was a native of Con- 
necticut, in which State he had been a pastor previous to 
his coming to Philadelphia. A man of great mental activ- 
ity and zeal in behalf of the essential doctrines of the gos- 
pel, he entered into controversies with great zest, espe- 
cially did he oppose "Hopkinsianism/' a fruitful theme 
of discussion at that time among the leading minds of the 
Presbyterian Church. He was the author of several books 
on controversial subjects, while editor of the Philadelphian. 
For eleven years (1825-1836) he was stated clerk of the 
General Assembly, and in 1828 its moderator. In order to 
advance general and theological education he devised a 
plan to establish at Marion, Missouri, a college in con- 
nection with a theological seminary (1835). In this en- 
terprise he labored a number of years, but the very ex- 
tensive financial reverses of 1837 neutralized his efforts 
besides absorbing his fortune, and he returned to Phila- 
delphia. Soon afterward he was invited to the pastorate 
of a Presbyterian church; here he labored with his usual 
zeal till a stroke of paralysis (1850) prevented his fur- 
ther preaching. 

Rev. James Patterson became pastor of the First Pres- 
byterian Church, Northern Liberties, in 18 14. It had been 
a much-neglected field, and the population was composed 
mostly of the poorer classes. When he became pastor the 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES. 255 

entire number of the organization was only fifty-three, yet 
owing to his energy and apostolic zeal the house in a 
short time was crowded with interested listeners. The 
pastor visited the lanes and back alleys and found num- 
bers of ignorant and vicious adults, while multitudes of 
neglected children swarmed in every direction. Having 
heard that a Christian lady of New Brunswick was in the 
habit of collecting in her own house on the Sabbath a num- 
ber of poor and neglected children and there giving them 
religious instruction, he determined to make a similar ef- 
fort, but on a much larger scale. The result was that in 
a short time more than a hundred children were brought 
together to receive Bible instruction. The work continued 
to prosper and "the Sabbath School Association of the 
Northern Liberties" was formed. Here was the germ of 
the Sunday school system in the city, as similar ones were 
organized in other churches and finally throughout the 
land. 

Patterson also endeavored to interest his people in 
prayer meetings; the first one held had present besides 
the pastor only two apprentice boys. In the course of a 
few years this public beginning had increased to forty-four 
in number, held every week. His people "laid hold of the 
thing" and thus four thousand persons were brought un- 
der religious instruction. These prayer meeting services 
extended to the lanes and alleys of the city to a distance of 
four miles from the church. 

Some of the measures he introduced would be deemed 
imprudent under ordinary circumstances, but his tact and 
whole-soul devotion were successful in making such meas- 
ures available for the cause of Christ. He was in a pecu- 
liar position, amid a people who had been woefully neg- 
lected in their religious education, while on all sides vice 
in every form was rampant. During more than twenty 
years revival followed revival and "scores upon scores 



256 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

were received, successively, at single seasons of commun- 
ion," and the original fifty-three became about twelve hun- 
dred communicants. (Gillett, I., pp. 488-492). 



XXVII. 

Presbyterian Worthies Continued. 

Hoge, Rice. — Among the representative Presbyterian 
ministers south of Pennsylvania, two held important posi- 
tions of influence. These were Moses Hoge and John Holt 
Rice. They both were natives of Virginia. 

Dr. Moses Hoge when quite a young man entered the 
Army of the Revolution, the classical school in which he 
was a pupil being broken up by the ravages of the war. 
We next find him in 1787 pastor of a church at Shepherds- 
town, in the Valley of Virginia. The religious condition 
of the church was at a low ebb, but twenty years of faith- 
ful and judiciously conducted services greatly increased 
the number of the congregation. His talents and acquire- 
ments attracted attention and he (1807) was elected presi- 
dent of Hampden-Sidney College, succeeding Dr. Archi- 
bald Alexander. His mind was one of unusual vigor and 
originality, well disciplined and well furnished with biblical 
knowledge. The Synod of Virginia resolved to establish a 
theological seminary within its own bounds and also in 
connection with the college, and to this professorship of 
theology it unanimously appointed Dr. Hoge (1812). 

John Holt Rice, a man of ardent piety and more than 
usually blest with practical wisdom and charity,was pastor 
at Richmond (1812). At the time of his acceptance of 
that pastorate there were very few Presbyterians in the 
city, and they much scattered. This fact may account for 
the phraseology of the invitation sent him, as "a call from 
a number of persons in Richmond and its vicinity attached 



258 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

to the Presbyterian Church." After the pastorate here of 
about eleven years he was appointed by the Synod of Vir- 
ginia to succeed Moses Hoge as professor of theology 
at Hampden-Sidney (1823). The seminary was in great 
need of funds and Dr. Rice took a journey to secure them. 
He visited many of the churches in New England and was 
successful in meeting a cordial reception for himself per- 
sonally and substantial aid for the seminary. 

His preaching, notwithstanding his peculiar manner, 
captivated his hearers by his noble thoughts and the love- 
liness of his Christian character. It is said by an author- 
ity that "among the ministers of the day he had not, per- 
haps, his superior in the mastery of sound, pure, vigorous 
English." He was devoted to the prosperity of the Pres- 
byterian Church, which he believed could be obtained only 
through peace and unity, saying: "The church is not to 
be purified by controversy, but by holy love." His visit 
to the Northern States had an influence in drawing out 
the religious sympathies of the Congregationalists and 
Presbyterians toward one another, north and south. The 
times for such influence were propitious. The "era of 
good feeling" in the political atmosphere had the effect of 
alluring the people of the different sections into a broad 
patriotism, based upon Christian principles. 

Dr. John McMillan. — We now pass beyond the Alle- 
ghanies into Western Pennsylvania and the adjacent ter- 
ritory. The inhabitants of this region were preeminently 
Presbyterian, since thither had migrated from east of the 
mountains numerous Covenanters and Seceders, besides 
the still greater number of the representatives of American 
Presbyterianism. In that portion of the church the most 
prominent theologian and instructor in theology during 
a period of a third of a century was Dr. John McMillan : 
"The father of Canonsburg Academy and of Jefferson 
College." His direct and most potent influence was over 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES CONTINUED. 259 

the minds of his pupils, not only of the many who studied 
for the ministry, but of those who entered other profes- 
sions. He deemed himself not merely the instructor of his 
students but likewise their pastor, and that theory was 
carried into practice when afterward applied to Jefferson 
College, whose president was the recognised pastor of its 
students. 

Porter, Power, Marquis, Dunlap, Ralston. — Among 
these worthy pioneers was Dr. Samuel Porter, who orig- 
inally belonged to the Covenanters, his ancestors being of 
that branch of the Presbyterian family. Following the 
advice of Dr. McMillan and Dr. Joseph Smith he prepared 
himself for the ministry. He labored under the disad- 
vantage of not having a full collegiate education. In re- 
spect to that requirement the presbytery in his case made 
an exception. Thirsting for knowledge and endowed with 
a vigorous mind, his attention was providentially drawn 
to reading and studying theological works. He as a lay- 
man became noted for his progress in that special field of 
knowledge. 

He was licensed by the Presbytery of Redstone in 1789 
and the following year was installed as pastor of the Con- 
gruity Church, in Westmoreland County; this, his only 
pastorate, lasted thirty-five years. He was a peculiarly 
gifted son of nature; remarkably eloquent, having the 
power to utilize his knowledge to the best advantage in 
presenting the truths of the gospel. He was characterized 
as the Patrick Henry of the Presbyterian pulpit. He was 
also a staunch patriot and stern lover of order; though 
not without personal danger, he boldly opposed in his ser- 
mons and addresses the unlawful actions of the famous 
whiskey insurrectionists in 1794. {Four Hundred Years, 
etc., pp. 485-487.) By his eloquent appeals he restrained 
their excited passions and modified their prejudices. He 
was quick at repartee, his imagery often startling, while his 



260 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

appeals were so overpowering that he held complete mas- 
tery of his audience and left the impression upon the in- 
telligent hearer as that of a man of moral and intellectual 
greatness. 

Rev. James Power, who has the honor of being the first 
settled pastor in Western Pennsylvania, was born in 1746 
at Nottingham, Chester County, of that State. He grad- 
uated at Princeton, 1766, and in 1772 was licensed by the 
New Castle Presbytery. After preaching in Virginia for 
two years he crossed the mountains and entered upon mis- 
sionary labors among the settlements of that region, with- 
in the territory of the now populous and rich counties of 
Fayette, Washington, Allegheny and Westmoreland. 
Afterward making a visit to the East for two years he re- 
turned with his family and continued in active duty as an 
itinerant missionary till in 1779 he became the regular 
pastor of two congregations, Sewickley and Mount Pleas- 
ant, in Westmoreland County. He was the first settled 
pastor in that region. His influence was of a uniform 
and strong character, the outgrowth of quiet and courteous 
manners and unremitting zeal as a pastor devoted to his 
special duties, while at the same time attractive to all as a 
graceful and instructive preacher. 

Rev. Thomas Marquis was a native of Virginia, born 
in 1753, of Irish parentage. His father was a large land- 
holder, but by his early death Thomas, the fourth son, and 
the other children were left destitute, since by the colonial 
law, following that of England, the landed estate went to 
the eldest son. When about the age of thirteen he com- 
menced to learn the trade of a weaver. Tradition tells 
that in after life when working at his trade, to do which 
he was often compelled to eke out his support, he would 
fasten a book in a proper position in order that he might 
read and ply his loom at the same time, the only interrup- 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES CONTINUED. 261 

tion being when replenishing the spool in the shuttle ; and 
thus he became remarkably well read. 

When twenty-three years of age and already married 
he migrated to Western Pennsylvania. After a course of 
private study in the classics under the tuition of Rev. Jo- 
seph Smith, and of theology under the direction of Dr. 
John McMillan, he was licensed by the Redstone Presby- 
tery, April 19, 1793, in the fortieth year of his age. The 
following year he was installed as pastor of the Cross 
Creek Church in Washington County, and as such re- 
mained till 1826. It is interesting to note that he built his 
cabin in the woods near where the village of Cross Creek 
now stands, in order to be under the protection of Vance's 
fort, as hostile Indians were often prowling in the neigh- 
borhood. Here he became a Christian and was one of the 
original members of the church when it was organized 
(1779), and from the first one of its ruling elders till he 
was licensed to preach, and afterward its pastor for thirty- 
two years. 

He was characterized as the "silver-tongued," "whose 
voice was music and whose art of persuasion was well-nigh 
perfect." Even in the last generation tradition continued 
to tell of his marvelous eloquence. How "he bore his au- 
dience with him on the tide of his own emotions, and some- 
times their intenseness of feeling seemed to outvie his 
own." He was always deeply imbued with the importance 
of his divine subject, and of the responsibilities of the 
sacred office. 

Ardent in his zeal for promoting missionary efforts in 
the numerous destitute settlements round about, he often 
seized the opportunity to go on tours himself, while en- 
couraging the cause and judiciously directing the labors 
of others engaged in the work. Upon the whole there was 
no one of the worthies of the time thus laboring on the 
frontiers who as a preacher had so strong a hold upon the 



262 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

popular mind as Mr. Marquis. His eloquence was of a 
broad type, and adapted to other conditions than those 
on the frontiers ; for illustration, when a commissioner to 
the General Assembly he preached to one of the most in- 
telligent congregations in Philadelphia; his audience was 
deeply moved, while the pastor — the celebrated Dr. Ashbel 
Green — was equally as much affected by the matter and 
the manner of the discourse. 

Other Honored Names. — Space forbids the pleasing 
task of enumerating, even briefly, all the names and labors 
of the many other worthies who filled their positions dur- 
ing this formative period of the Presbyterian Church in 
that distant region, designated "beyond the mountains." 
What a noble catalogue of devoted and public-spirited pas- 
tors we have in the names of such men as the Revs. Joseph 
Smith, John McPherrin, Robert Marshall, James Hughes, 
Dr. George Hill, Robert Johnston, James Guthrie, Elisha 
MaCurdy, the great revivalist; William Johnston, Ashbel 
Green Fairchild, and others; Dr. James Dunlap, a grad- 
uate of Princeton, a student of theology under James Fin- 
ley, pastor of the Laurel Hill and Dunlap's Creek congre- 
gations, afterward president of Jefferson College. Dr. 
Samuel Ralston, born in Ireland in 1756, graduate of the 
University of Glasgow, 1794; imbued with the religious 
doctrines taught in the Bible and the Westminster Con- 
fession, migrated to Western Pennsylvania and in 1796 be- 
came pastor of the churches at Mingo Creek and Williams- 
port (now Monongahela City) ; here he labored for thir- 
ty-five years till the infirmities of age overcame his wonted 
energy. A man of great mental activity, of fine scholar- 
ship and withal of genuine piety, noted for his kindness of 
heart and gifted with the peculiar and graceful wit of his 
countrymen. An ardent friend of education, a trustee of 
Jefferson College, and for many years the president of the 
board. The pen, though reluctantly, must stop somewhere. 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES CONTINUED. 263 

Let another — no one more competent — give a summary of 
the influence exerted by these worthies. 

An Appreciative Estimate. — Rarely, if ever, in the his- 
tory of the Presbyterian Church in this country has any 
of its missionary fields been occupied by a more able and 
devoted band of pioneer laborers than that which was cov- 
ered by the Old Redstone Presbytery. In wise and saga- 
cious forethought and provision for the prospective wants 
of the church, as well as in unwearied and faithful cultiva- 
tion of their own fields, they have been rarely equalled and 
never surpassed. Their self-denial, their energy and their 
success alike entitle them to the highest honor. In spirit 
they were the successors to the Biairs, Finleys and Smiths 
of the revival period, who during the division adhered to 
the New Side and the cause of vital piety. {Pp. 153-154-) 
Many of them were rarely gifted, and would have done 
honor to the most exalted station, and the influence which 
they exerted upon the great western field then opening 
with inviting promise to eastern emigration cannot be es- 
timated. (Dr. E. H. Gillett, I., p. 267.) 

The Continued Influence. — In this catalogue compara- 
tively only a few names have been mentioned of the noble, 
learned and devotedly Christian men, who during the period 
which includes a portion of the last quarter of the last 
century and the first half of this exerted a combined influ- 
ence that permeated the whole Presbyterian Church. In 
this period, as an outgrowth of the Christian zeal of these 
men, originated the missionary and other benevolent in- 
stitutions which to-day are a power in the land for doing 
good. All the pastors in their respective spheres, however 
humble, manifested their appreciation of the cause by 
impressing upon their congregations its vast importance. 
Here, though feeble at first, began a system of training 
individual church members to realize their responsibility 



264 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

to do their part by furnishing the funds requisite to carry 
the gospel to every portion of their own land and also to 
the world outside. 



XXVIII. 
Progress of the Church. 

Formation of National Societies. — We have already no- 
ticed the formation of local societies for missionary pur- 
poses (pp. 237-238), but now the extension of the work 
demanded organizations on a larger scale to supply the re- 
ligious wants of the people on the frontier, west of the 
older settlements. This was specially the case when the 
country settled down to peace and harmony after the close 
of the War of 1812. The Christian sentiment of sending 
the gospel to the destitute portions of our own country and 
to heathen lands was aroused and seemed to pervade al- 
most everywhere the religious communities. This is 
evident from the great numbers of local missionary socie- 
ties that sprung into existence and which did a grand local 
work. The time was, however, drawing near for the 
blending of these societies in the form of auxiliaries with 
others that were so comprehensive in their scope and op- 
erations as to be national in their character. 

We will give a summary of the societies formed during 
the first third of this century, and to which in due time in 
order to promote their greater efficiency the existing local 
societies became auxiliary. In October, 1802, the S>nod 
of Pittsburg, when in session in that city ; organized the 
Western Missionary Society, its primary object being to 
meet the increasing and almost universal calls on the part 
of the people for more ministers of the gospel. This de- 
mand was the outgrowth of the great revival (pp. 224- 
235). There is a peculiar interest attached to this move- 
19 



2 66 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ment as it was the first instance in the Presbyterian body in 
which the theory of the church being ex-ofhcio a mission- 
any society took form in the announcement, ''The Synod of 
Pittsburg shall be styled the Western Missionary Society." 
This society had a far-reaching influence, as it was the 
germ of the present Presbyterian Board of Foreign Mis- 
sions (1831). The American Board of Foreign Missions 
was formed in 18 10, the American Bible Society in 18 16, 
the Baptist Church entered fully upon the work of foreign 
missions in 1814, the Methodist Episcopal in 1819, the Re- 
formed Dutch in 1832, Protestant Episcopal in 1838, and 
afterward others; in all fifteen societies were organized. 
It is seen by the formation of these societies that all the 
evangelical denominations throughout the land were man- 
ifesting unusual interest in promoting the cause of mis- 
sions. {Four Hundred Years' Hist., p. 636.) 

Reasons for Educational Societies. — In a line with these 
missionary movements was another, the supplying minis- 
ters in sufficient numbers to meet the increasing religious 
wants of the churches and of the people at large. To ac- 
complish this object attention was directed to the expe- 
diency of aiding Christian and otherwise suitable young 
men, though of limited means, in obtaining the requisite 
education. The number is comparatively very, very small 
of Christian young men that happen to be sufficiently rich, 
and therefore able to bear the expenses of their own the- 
ological education, but who are also willing to devote 
themselves to the gospel ministry. On the other hand, how 
slender are the hopes of success in a worldly point of 
view to induce students to devote sufficient time, labor 
and expense in preparing themselves for the ministry in 
either the Congregational or Presbyterian Church ! The 
same may be said of the other denominations. The mo- 
tive, therefore, for undergoing the expense and the labor 
in preparing for the ultimate object of the theological stu- 



PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 267 

dent must be in the desire to preach the gospel for its cwn 
sake. This may account for the fact that so many stu- 
dents of theology are willing to practice great self-denial 
in preparing themselves for the sacred office. From posi- 
tive knowledge we know that as a class no students prac- 
tice self-denial and labor so hard in their studies as do the 
theological. 

The Union of Educational Societies. — There had been 
for a number of years local societies in New England and 
in some of the other States to aid theological students, but 
the call for ministers became so urgent and continuous 
that it was deemed expedient and even necessary to en- 
large the field of the associations. The first to be inau- 
gurated was the American Educational Society (1815), 
located at Boston. To this society in due time, to pro- 
mote greater efficiency in the work, the local societies of 
that section for the most part became auxiliary. The Pres- 
byterian Board of Education was established in 18 19. This 
action of the General Assembly stimulated the movement 
and numbers of similar auxiliary societies were organized 
within the bounds of the church. Some of these, how- 
ever, perhaps the majority, gave their contributions to the 
American society, evidently because of its better facilities 
of applying them practically. 

A union of the American and Presbyterian Educational 
societies took place in 1827. The latter at this time had 
under its care about one hundred students, and its opera- 
tions had been mostly within the bounds of the Middle 
States. The union of these two societies made one that 
was national in its influence. In truth the sentiment of 
nationality had greatly increased since the close of the 
War of 1 8 12 — sometimes characterized as the second war 
of independence — not merely in the political and industrial 
but in the religious world, and on this line of religious 
policy the missionary societies had gradually assumed a 



2 68 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

national character. In the year 1830 the American so- 
ciety removed its headquarters from Boston to New York 
City, it being a center of greater influence because of its 
geographical position. 

Dueling. — The barbarous practice of dueling prevailed 
in portions of the land, though usually among those who 
prided themselves as being in the upper circles of society. 
In the minds of the Christian public, however, there was 
a strong undercurrent against the custom. In the vicinity 
where duels occasionally occurred, there was often 
roused an indignant feeling of disapproval, but which 
owing to the circumstances, was only local in its influence. 
Alexander Hamilton, recognized next to Washington, the 
statesman of the period, fell a victim of the custom at the 
hands of Aaron Burr. On this occasion, owing to Hamil- 
ton's position, was roused an intense and almost national 
sense of the atrocity of his virtual assassination. Dr. 
Lyman Beecher, then a young man, at the first meeting 
of the Synod of New York and New Jersey after the mur- 
der, introduced resolutions condemning in severe terms 
the custom of dueling. Although timidity adduced 
"strong political reasons" why they should not pass, the 
synod, nevertheless, in most emphatic terms, condemned 
the murderous practice. Dr. Beecher had already ex- 
pressed his views on the subject in a sermon which star- 
tled his congregation, as he unveiled in vivid terms the 
criminality of the custom, which he characterized as a 
national sin, because of its prevalence within our borders, 
and he pointed out that those who honored the duelist 
were conniving at murder. Afterward, the sermon was 
published and, having a very large circulation, aided much 
in rousing an intense feeling against the practice. 

Many other clergymen of the time did not hesitate to 
notice in appropriate terms the so-called "code of honor," 
such as Dr. John M. Mason of the Scotch Church, and 



PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 269 

notably among these sermons was one supremely eloquent, 
by Dr. Eliphalet Nott, then President of Union College. 
It was circulated in pamphlet form throughout the land, 
and had also a very great effect upon the public mind. 

The following year the Presbytery of Baltimore in- 
structed its commissioners to ask the General Assembly to 
recommend the ministers of the church not "to officiate at 
the funeral of any one who was known to have been con- 
cerned in a duel, or had given or accepted a challenge." 
The assembly (1805) took high ground, expressing its 
abhorrence of the practice, as "a remnant of Gothic bar- 
barism * * * a presumptuous and highly criminal ap- 
peal to God as the Sovereign Judge." And in addition, 
also recommended that no persons thus engaged, unless 
they had given clear evidence of repentance, should be 
admitted to the distinguishing privileges of the church. 

Opposition to Slavery. — In 1787 the United Synod of 
New York and Philadelphia expressed the views of the 
Presbyterian Church by resolving that they were in favor 
of "promoting the abolition of slavery" — a sentiment they 
had expressed again and again — and closed by "recom- 
mending the people under their care to use prudent meas- 
ures consistent with the interest and state of civil society 
in the parts where they live, to procure, eventually, the 
final abolition of slavery in America." This was the same 
year in which the Constitution of the United States was 
formed. The convention which framed it met on the 14th 
of May, in Philadelphia, and continued in session four 
months. The synod met also in the same city and at the 
same time, and its published utterance on the subject was 
not without influence. 

The subject of slavery was also brought to the attention 
of the assembly soon after its organization on a national 
basis (1795). Twenty years later, in 1815, a number of 
elders, who had scruples in respect to the holding of 



270 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

slaves, petitioned the assembly to take action on the sub- 
ject, and at the same time came an overture from the 
Presbytery of Ohio, asking for a deliverance in relation to 
the buying and selling of slaves. After expressing deep 
regret at the continuance of slavery, and also recognizing 
the difficulties in remedying the evil, the assembly urged 
the adoption of such measures as "to secure to the rising 
generation of slaves, within the bounds of the church, a 
religious education." It also emphatically condemned the 
'•selling and buying of slaves by way of traffic, as incon- 
sistent with the spirit of the gospel.' , It likewise con- 
demned all undue severity in the management of the 
slaves, and in addition recommended the Presbyteries 
and sessions "to use all prudent measures to prevent such 
shameful and uprighteous conduct." 

Deliverance on Slavery. — To preserve the connection, 
we give an account of the action of the assembly on the 
same subject, three years later (1818). It came up in a 
new phase ; a member of the church had sold a slave, who 
was also a member of the church, and who was unwilling 
to be sold. The assembly made a somewhat lengthy de- 
liverance on the general subject of slavery, concluding as 
follows : "It is manifestly the duty of all Christians who 
enjoy the light of the present day, to use their honest, 
earnest, and unwearied endeavors to correct the errors of 
former times, and as speedily as possible to efface this 
blot on our holy religion, and to obtain the complete abo- 
lition of slavery throughout Christendom, and if possible 
throughout the world." {Minutes of that year.) At 
the same time the assembly expressed its deep sympathy 
for those members of the church upon whom had been en- 
tailed the evils of human bondage, "wherein a great and 
most virtuous part of the community abhor slavery and 
wish its extermination as sincerely as any others." Every 



PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 271 

afterward, when the subject came up, the assembly was 
true to the principles thus announced. 

Francis Herron. — Among the prominent ministers of 
this period was Francis Herron, a Pennsylvanian by birth, 
of Scotch-Irish descent, a graduate of Dickinson College 
(1794) under Dr. Charles Nisbet's presidency, and a 
licentiate of the Presbytery of Carlisle (1797). He en- 
tered at once upon his work, first as a missionary beyond 
the mountains; on his journey he spent a Sabbath at a 
settlement where Wilkinsburg now stands, and preached 
under the shade of a tree. He did not linger, but passed 
on through a little town called Pittsburg, toward the 
frontier, having a settler for a guide in the wilderness. 
On the way he spent a while among the Indians, who 
were encamped in the vicinity of Marietta. After spend- 
ing some time as a missionary, he returned East, and on 
his way back he stopped at Pittsburg. The proprietor of 
the tavern at which he put up happened to be an ac- 
quaintance from his native place, Shippensburg. The latter 
asked him to preach, and Mr. Herron consented. Word 
was sent around, and a congregation numbering eighteen 
assembled to hear the sermon. The meeting was held in 
a rude log cabin, in which swallows having their nests 
flew out and in during the service. On the site of that 
log cabin afterward stood the First Presbyterian Church 
of Pittsburg, of which Dr. Herron was pastor nearly fifty 
years. 

After a successful pastorate of ten years in the East, Dr. 
Herron was invited to Pittsburg ( 18 10) . He accepted the 
call. On entering upon his pastoral duties he was con- 
fronted with an unprecedented coldness on the part of the 
members of the church in respect to their Christian duties. 
An incident illustrates the prevailing religious sentiment. 
Dr. Herron proposed to hold prayer-meetings; but the 
proposition met with little favor. The first meeting was 



272 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

held in a school-room belonging to the Rev. Thomas Hunt, 
who was a teacher, but occasionally preached. At the 
first meeting were the two mininsters, one layman, and six 
women, and for a year and a half the number was not 
materially increased. At length the opposition took a 
more pronounced form, inasmuch as some men forbid the 
attendance of their wives and daughters, and finally Dr. 
Herron was told that such meeting must be discontinued. 
The reply was prompt and decisive: "Gentlemen, these 
meetings will not stop; you are at liberty to do as you 
please, and I also have liberty to worship God according 
to the dictates of my own conscience, none daring to 
molest or make me afraid." The prayer-meetings con- 
tinued, and soon an unusual interest in religion became 
manifest, revivals followed, and numbers were converted 
from the world, some of whom were the leading members 
of the society of the city. During his long pas- 
torate the church prospered and became a great power 
for good in the city, which, in the meantime, 
greatly advanced in population and proportionately in its 
material prosperity. Dr. Herron was an ever warm 
sympathizer in all measures for the promotion of educa- 
tion, of temperance, and the good morals of the com- 
munity at large. "During his long pastorate he was a 
power in the city, beloved of his people, and influential in 
the church. * * * One such life is an infallible proof 
of the gospel, and puts infidelity to confusion/' He was 
a prominent and influential advocate of the founding of 
the Western Theological Seminary, to sustain which he 
ever earnestly labored. Owing to the infirmities of age 
he resigned his pastorate at the age of seventy-six; the 
Master called him home in his eighty-sixth year. With 
the continued material progress of the city other Presby- 
terian churches were established. The Second — which 
had languished for a number of years — became a power 



PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 273 

for good under the pastorate of Dr. Elisha P. Swift 
(1819-1835), when he resigned to accept a professorship 
in the seminary 

Other Presbyterians. — This region, of which Pittsburg 
may be deemed a center, from the earliest settlements 
within its bounds, was a favorite with Presbyterians of 
different orders. These all strictly held the same church 
policy, but differed on some points of opinion or doctrine 
which to the outside world appear to be non-essential. 
The city of Pittsburg in the early part of this century 
had a number of churches belonging to the Reformed 
Presbyterian and the Associate Reformed, etc. Here one 
of these bodies established a Theological Seminary. The 
leading pastors of these churches were Drs. Black and 
Bruce. 

Revivals in the South. — In addition to the revivals in 
Kentucky and in Western Pennsylvania, which have been 
already noticed, were many instances of the special out- 
pouring of the spirit in other portions of the country, 
almost contemporary with the former or in the immedi- 
ately succeeding years. These later revivals were prin- 
cipally in the Carolinas and in Georgia and in 
the western portions of Virginia. They had to 
contend with a phase of infidelity, though not 
quite so political or pronounced and blatant as 
that which obstructed the work in Kentucky. It was a 
deism derived from the writings of Hume, Voltaire, and 
Paine. A similar influence that affected the physical 
system of the convicted in Kentucky was, to a limited 
extent, also experienced here. These abnormal exercises 
elicited much adverse criticism, and a number of Presby- 
terian clergymen came, some many miles, to witness these 
unusual scenes. Among whom was Dr. Moses Hoge of 
Virginia, who was one of the most judicious and conserva- 
tive men of the time, and who made himself familiar with 



274 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the experience of many of the converts. His prejudices 
vanished, and though he did not see the order and pro- 
priety that he wished, he deemed the work 'Very extraor- 
dinary," and expressed his conviction that it was "a 
work of God," and "was satisfied that he had before him 
the evidence of the operation of Divine truth and of the 
Spirit of God." 

During the first twenty years of this century, owing to 
political disturbances, the advance of the Presbyterian 
Church in the number of its communicants, was not very 
rapid, yet the latter increased forty per cent, while the 
increase of the general population was only twenty per 
cent. During the same period there were, comparatively, 
isolated revivals in New Jersey and in Central and West- 
ern New York. Scarcely was there a Presbytery that did 
not report: "The triumphs of evangelical truth and the 
power of sovereign grace." The assemblies of the years 
1802 and '03 took cognizance of these times of spiritual 
refreshings, and in gratitude to God made mention of "the 
very extraordinary success of the gospel" in many places. 
These, so to speak, isolated revivals continued for a num- 
ber of years, and were thankfully recognized by the 
assemblies from time to time, but the War of 1812 sadly 
interfered with the general progress of vital piety in all 
the denominations, and of this deleterious influence the 
Presbyterian was by no means exempt. 

Progress in Religion, How Promoted. — The progress 
of religion in both the Carolinas and in Georgia was 
greatly promoted by the labors of the noble corps of Pres- 
byterian ministers resident in that section of the land; 
they were also greatly aided by a few finely educated 
ministers who migrated thither from the North. The 
oversight of the churches in these three States was, vir- 
tually, in the hands of the Synod of the Carolinas rather 
than in the control of the General Assembly, since the lat- 



PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 275 

ter body could give but little aid, as it was overwhelmed 
with calls for ministers further west and southwest, which 
came most urgently especially from the Synod of Ken- 
tucky. The Synod of the Carolinas was, how- 
ever, nobly sustained not only by the pastors but 
by the people — the church members themselves — 
in their zeal for the cause of religion and that of 
education. Thus they labored on and became more 
and more self-reliant and as a result the churches were 
imbued with Presbyterian sentiments. The latter phase 
was not in consequence of outside influence, since into that 
section comparatively few Presbyterian families and 
church members removed from the Eastern and Middle 
States; for obvious reasons the tide of migration of 
families from the latter was much larger toward the West 
beyond the mountains than toward the South on the Atlan- 
tic slope. The Congregationalists who happened to come 
fell in with the Presbyterians, and so, usually, did the 
Huguenots and their descendants. This may partially 
account for the uniformity in the Presbyterian influence 
in all that region. It is a matter of history that there 
has been less discrepancies in the interpretation of the 
Bible and of the Confession of Faith in the southern por- 
tion of the church than in the northern. There was less 
of critical Biblical scholarship in the South than in the 
North ; and less material progress owing to the inefficiency 
of slave labor. The people moved along in the even tenor 
of their way, without being much affected by outside in- 
fluences emanating from other portions of their own 
land, or from Europe, in the form of immigration, because 
of the existing slavery ; neither were they to much extent 
affected by the stimulus of commerce, nor in the religious 
world by theological discussions. 

The church members, however, did not cease to follow 
the traditions of their fathers in relation to an educated 



276 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ministry, and that spirit pervaded the whole region, and 
numbers of the best educated pastors had each a few pupils 
whom they instructed in the classics, in Hebrew, in Greek, 
and in theology. In this manner these worthies labored 
incessantly to secure an educated ministry, and in due 
time theological seminaries were established. 

The Migration of a Church. — A Congregational church 
and its pastor migrated from Dorchester, Mass., in 1695, 
to South Carolina, "with a desire to encourage the settle- 
ment of churches and the promotion of religion in the 
Southern plantations. " They located on the Ashley river, 
eighteen miles above Charleston, and named the place 
after their former home. Fifty-seven years afterward, for 
sufficient reasons, the church members moved in a body, 
their pastor, John Osgood, a graduate of Harvard, accom- 
panying them, and made a new settlement at a place 
named Midway, because of its position between the 
Ogechee and Altamaha rivers. Here upon lands granted 
them by the Georgia colonial authorities they began their 
new home in 1754, but in 1778 their house of worship and 
nearly all their rude private dwellings were burned by 
the British soldiers under the command of General Pro- 
vost. The members of the church and society were scat- 
tered, but after the close of the war they returned and 
repaired their desolate homes. They erected a log church 
and true to their instincts they also founded an academy. 

Afterward, in 1784, the Rev. Abiel Holmes, from Bos- 
ton, was their pastor. He was the father of the late Oliver 
Wendell Holmes, and author of American Annals. 
Tedediah Morse succeeded Mr. Holmes in 1786. The 
latter was the author of the first complete American 
geography. This church united finally with the Presby- 
terian, and had a number of pastors under whose charge 
it did good service in furnishing a number of Presbyterian 



PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 277 

ministers for the churches in that region, among whom 
was Daniel Baker, the famed evangelist. 

There was in this entire region during the period of 
twenty-five or thirty years commencing in 1790 a noble 
band of earnest and self-denying Presbyterian ministers, 
concerning whose labors we cannot go into detail, but 
whose memories are embalmed in the reminiscences of 
the direct descendants of those to whom they ministered, 
and in the dusty records of their respective presbyteries; 
such as the names of Thomas Cummings, Thomas Gould- 
ing, William Whirr, John Brown, famed as the President 
of the State University at Chapel Hill — a model teacher, 
loving and beloved by his pupils. To these may be added 
the brothers Caldwell, Joseph and Andrew, John Mcln- 
tyre, Allen McDougal, and many others. 

Prayer-meetings. — An outgrowth of the revivals just 
mentioned was the formation of a "praying society," an 
innovation upon the usual routine of indifference that pre- 
vailed among the churches. At first very few of the 
church members could be induced to take part in these 
social prayer-meetings or even attend them, but ere long 
a spirit of prayer manifested itself and the attendance 
began to increase greatly. In consequence, a series of 
meetings for prayer and preaching was commenced, to 
which came the people in crowds and in a spirit of de- 
votion. The preaching was a practical presentation of 
gospel truth, and no undue effort was made to excite the 
emotions of the audiences. Decorum and good order pre- 
vailed, no sensational or unscriptural expressions were 
heard, yet in more than one instance numbers were 
stricken down in a manner similar to that which had oc- 
curred in Kentucky. 

Union Meetings. — This spiritual interest prevailed to 
such an extent that Christians of other denominations 
were drawn more closely together, and what was unusual 



278 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

at that time, union meetings were held, at which thousands 
often attended. Several Methodist and Baptist clergymen 
took part in these exercises, though the greater number of 
preachers were Presbyterian. Here were converts in great 
numbers and of all ages, from children of ten years to 
persons of seventy. The influence of these meetings ex- 
tended for numerous miles in every direction, since the 
converts, on returning to their homes, carried with them 
a spirit of prayer, and an aggressive religion that influ- 
enced their neighbors, and thus the work went on for a 
number of years. The infidelity and scepticism, once so 
prevalent, disappeared. Among those brought to Christ 
during these years were a number of young men who 
afterward devoted themselves to the ministry. 

There was no portion of the Presbyterian Church during 
the period from 1790 to 1825 in which was manifested 
more genuine zeal for the gospel than in the Carolinas, 
Southwestern Virginia, Georgia, and East Tennessee. The 
people had very few facilities for the accumulation of 
wealth ; as best they could they met from year to year the 
ever-recurring expenses of their families. They depended 
upon themselves alone for their household comforts of 
plain food and clothing of domestic maunfacture. Only 
in a few districts had they facilities by being within reach 
of the ocean for exchanging their lumber, tar, and turpen- 
tine for comforts, to them luxuries, obtained from the out- 
side world. Yet, if we take into consideration these ma- 
terial disadvantages, the amounts they gave to sustain 
the institutions of the gospel were in proportion as great 
as in any other part of the Presbyterian Church. 

Drs. James Hall and S. E. McCorkle. — We have 
scarcely room to merely notice two worthies, who labored 
in this Presbyterian field — Drs. James Hall and Samuel 
Eusebias McCorkle. The former was licensed by the 
Presbvtery of Orange, and was afterward pastor for forty 



■PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 279 

years at Bethany, North Carolina. His ministry is de- 
scribed as "a glowing scene of untiring activity and earn- 
est zeal to win souls to Christ." At one communion he 
admitted eighty from the world and at another sixty. 
He was a native of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and of Scotch- 
Irish descent. At an early age his parents removed to 
North Carolina, and he was brought within the bounds of 
the congregation which he afterward served as pastor for 
so many years. He graduated at Princeton in 1774, under 
the presidency of Dr. John Witherspoon. He refused the 
office of tutor, as he wished to devote himself entirely to 
preaching the gospel. He was accustomed to travel at 
certain seasons on missionary tours in the country round 
about, and revival after revival followed his labors, but 
none of which were more powerful than those within the 
bounds of his own congregation. He was not deaf to the 
calls of his country, and in consequence at one time he 
was an officer in the army of the Revolution. His elo- 
quence inspired his men, many of whom were from his 
own congregation, to repel Cornwallis in one of his raids. 
Dr. Hall was offered the commission of Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, but he declined the honor. 

Dr. Samuel Eusebias McCorkle was a native of Penn- 
sylvania, but his parents removed to North Carolina, when 
he was a child. He graduated at Princeton (1772) in the 
same class with Dr. John McMillan. Licensed by the 
Presbytery of New York, he was commissioned to labor in 
the South, under the direction of the Presbytery of Han- 
over and Orange. After preaching two years as mis- 
sionary, he was settled over a church, Thyatira, N. C, 
within the bounds of the Presbytery of Concord. Here he 
labored for thirty-five years as a preacher, and also as the 
principal of a classical school named Zion Parnassus. His 
influence was greatly extended through his numerous stu- 
dents, not only in the church but in the world outside. 



XXIX. 

Progress of the Church Continued. 

An increased interest in religious affairs became mani- 
fest in Maryland in 1799, especially in Baltimore and in 
the churches in that vicinity. Though these churches 
were nominally Presbyterian, there appears to have been 
no effort to organize them in accordance with the polity 
of that denomination. Means were taken in 1802 to 
remedy this defect by electing representative men as 
elders. 

Drs. Inglis and Nevins. — About the commencement of 
the century Rev. James Inglis, of Scotch descent, a gradu- 
ate of Columbia College, New York City, a student of law 
under the famed Alexander Hamilton, and afterward of the- 
ology under the direction of Dr. John Rodgers of the Brick 
Church, in the same city, was licensed by the Presbytery 
of New York. Soon afterward he was called to the pas- 
torate of the First Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, 
where he remained eighteen years as a successful and la- 
borious pastor. He was remarkable for his ease of man- 
ner in the pulpit, combined with a gracefulness of style 
and flow of finished oratory, but which did not betray the 
labor of its careful preparation. 

The work laid down by Dr. Inglis in 1820 was taken up 
by Dr. William Nevins. The latter was a native of Nor- 
wich, Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale (1816) and of 
Princeton Seminary (1819). Within a few years his 
labors were crowned with success in an extensive revival 
whose influence was felt for many years afterward in his 



PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH CONTINUED. 28 1 

own church as well as in others within the city. This 
distinguished man was an original thinker, and had the 
aptness of clothing his vivid thoughts in graceful and 
appropriate language in the pulpit or out of it, and thus 
he became a recognized power in the religious literature of 
the time. In the midst of his usefulness he was taken away 
in his thirty-eighth year. He was universally lamented by 
the church and the community in which he labored, and 
also in the outside world. 

Religious Interest in New Jersey. — In the State of New 
Jersey, commencing in 1802, and continuing for several 
years, occurred several revivals of religion. In their main 
feature they were more like those which had blessed 
Western Pennsylvania than the revivals in Kentucky or 
in the Carolinas. At the same time there were a number 
of finely educated and gifted Presbyterian ministers with- 
in the State, such as Drs. Robert Finley, M. L. Perrine, 
Asa Hillyer, James Richards, Edward D. Griffen — the 
latter two of Newark — Henry Kollock, and the venerable 
Dr. Alexander McWhorter, also of Newark, and many 
other worthy preachers. 

On one occasion a meeting for religious services was 
held at Madison, where Dr. Robert Finley was pastor in 
connection with Baskingridge. An immense concourse of 
people assembled, and no less than twenty-three ministers 
from different portions of the State were present. The 
meeting was presided over by the venerable Dr. McWhor- 
ter. Because of the numbers it was found necessary to 
divide the multitude into two assemblies, the one meeting 
in the church and the other in the open-air. 

The exercises were characterized by an unusual and 
deep solemnity and interest. The preachers' souls ap- 
peared to glow with devotion, to which responded the 
emotions of the Christians present with holy fear and 
trembling. There were, also, a large number of congrega- 
20 



282 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

tions in that region that were soon after visited by the 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Notably was this the case 
in Newark in the congregation under the pastorate of the 
celebrated Dr. GrifTen. A day of fasting and prayer was 
held, which was followed by scenes, described as truly 
Pentecostal. The number of conversions was about two 
hundred and fifty ; they were of all ages, from nine years to 
three score and ten. Some of the latter had been resolute 
opposers to the Christian religion, and some were apostates 
and some abandoned characters. 

Increase of the Church in New York. — The Presby- 
terian church increased more rapidly in the central and 
western portions of the State of New York than in the 
eastern. Within ten years (1800-1810) about fifty new 
churches were organized in the former region, and of this 
number nearly all became self-supporting and permanent, 
and within the next five years twenty additional churches 
were organized. In 1800 the General Assembly sta- 
tioned the Rev. Jedediah Chapman of the Presbytery of 
New York at Geneva, and he became a sort of missionary 
bishop for that region. In succeeding years other min- 
isters were sent to aid in the cause. 

Dr. James Camahan. — Among the Presbyterian pastors 
who labored in Central New York was James Carnahan, 
who deserves a passing notice. He was of Scotch-Irish 
descent, born in 1775 in Cumberland County, Pennsyl- 
vania, a son of a farmer, who left him an orphan at the 
age of twelve years. He at once entered upon a struggle 
to obtain an education, his early years being spent in farm 
labor. At the age of eighteen we find him beyond the 
mountains, entering upon a preparatory course of study 
at the Canonsburg Academy. When he was through his 
preparatory studies, Dr. John McMillan, appreciating the 
good qualities of the young man, loaned him the means 
to prosecute his studies at Princeton. Carnahan set out on 




Rev. James Carnahan, D. D., LL. D. 

(282, 283.) 



PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH CONTINUED. 283 

foot across the mountains; his companion was Jacob 
Lindsley, who, after many years of service in the church 
as a preacher and pastor, was professor in Ohio Uni- 
versity at Athens, in that State. Lindsley owned a horse 
and he generously shared the latter's service with his 
friend on the way. One would ride on ahead some miles, 
then tie the horse; the other would come up and, mount- 
ing, ride till he overtook his friend, thus reaching the end 
of their journey of about three hundred miles. 

Carnahan on his graduation at Princeton (1800) re- 
ceived the highest honor of his class, and the following 
year was appointed tutor in the college, and four years 
later he was licensed to preach the gospel. His first pas- 
torate was in Utica and Whitesborough, New York, but 
after a service of six years his health failed and in con- 
sequence he resigned and engaged in teaching at Prince- 
ton, and afterward in Georgetown, D. C. During- these 
years, Dr. Carnahan, by his zeal and labor, kept himself 
in touch with the most advanced scholarship of the times, 
and yet he was as remarkable for his tact and accurate 
knowledge of the practical affairs of men. He was elected 
President of Princeton College in 1823, succeeding Dr. 
Ashbel Green. For more than thirty years he presided 
over that institution, and with unusual success; thus ex- 
erting in the Union a healthful influence in the promotion 
of education and morals, based on the truths of the Bible, 
as exemplified far and wide in the lives and examples of 
the numerous students that during nearly a third of a cen- 
tury had been under his care and direction. 

Associations and Presbyteries in New York State. — 
The Connecticut Missionary Society during this period 
(1789- 181 5) continued to send preachers to visit the set- 
tlements in Central and Western New York. Among 
these missionaries occur the names James H. Hotchkin, 
Seth Williston, Jedadiah Bushnell, David Higgins, who 



284 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

was a native of Haddam, Connecticut, and a graduate of 
Yale, and many other worthies. In 1802, Higgins was in- 
stalled by a council of Congregational and Presbyterian 
ministers as pastor of the church at Aurelius. Numerous 
revivals, the fruit of the labors of these devoted mission- 
aries and pastors, prevailed throughout this region from 
1797 for a number of years. These times of spiritual re- 
freshing were followed by a succession of new churches 
that were in due time organized. 

In 1803 the "Middle Association" was formed by the 
Congregationalists in what was termed the "Military 
Tract/' in which lands were granted to settlers on liberal 
conditions. This area embraced the counties of Cayuga, 
Onondaga, Seneca, Cortland, and portions of three 
others. The territory thus named contained at this time 
an estimated population of 30,000. This association, after 
an existence of eight years, on its own motion, dissolved 
and its members individually united with the presby- 
teries of Cayuga and Onondaga. According to its con- 
stitution its "ministers and churches were held amenable 
both as respected doctrine and practice." In this rule the 
association partially adopted the Presbyterian policy. 

The uniting in this manner with the Presbyterian de- 
nomination by the members of this association disclosed as 
a motive the fact that among the intelligent and thought- 
ful members of the Congregational churches there had 
originated a desire for a stricter order of government than 
obtained in their body. Rumors had reached them of the 
sad defection toward Unitarianism among their sister 
churches in Massachusetts. They recognized that under 
the Congregational system there was a lack of authority 
to enforce church discipline, even in a gentle manner. This 
feature was true, especially in respect to deviations from 
what was termed the orthodox or evangelical doctrines. 
In order to avoid an investigation and perhaps consequent 



PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH CONTINUED. 285 

censure, the accused minister or church had only to with- 
draw from the association. In accordance with the 
original system of independency as established in Massa- 
chusetts {See p. 71) the accused congregation was free 
from the censure of sister churches, except the negative 
one, implied in the non-recognition of Christian fellow- 
ship. The latter could withdraw from the association and 
assume the name, say, of the Second Congregational 
Church, and thus retain the prestige of that name while 
rejecting essential and characteristic doctrines of the 
Church of Christ. This sentiment among devout Congre- 
gationalists had permeated the entire region. It may be 
on this ground that when an effort was made — June, 1810 
— to form a State (Congregational) association, the plan 
failed, because of the great diversity of opinion as to the 
expediency of the attempt, since some of the associations 
did not send delegates. The following year, as we have 
seen, the Middle Association dissolved itself. The out- 
come was a preference for a union in some manner with 
the Presbyterian mode of church polity, that ecclesiastical 
order might be maintained. 

Religion West of the Genesee — Mr. Allen.— A partial 
idea of the condition of society at this time in the territory 
west of the Genesee river may be obtained from the notes 
of the Rev. Dr. William Allen, who was afterward the 
honored President of Bowdoin College. Beginning in 
1804 as a missionary, he traversed this entire region on 
horseback, even to Niagara Falls, preaching as oppor- 
tunity served, in the scattered settlements. He afterward 
published a brief but stirring "plea for the Genesee coun- 
try." There were at that time only twelve Congrega- 
tional and Presbyterian ministers in the region east of the 
Genesee, while "west of that river to Lake Erie, and from 
Lake Ontario to the Pennsylvania line there was no meet- 
ing-house, no settled minister nor missionary, except Mr. 



286 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Allen." The agent of the Holland Land Company — 
Joseph Ellicott — was, in his way, the most influential 
man in the section of the country west of the Genesee. He 
was a notorious infidel, after the then fashionable French 
type as represented by Voltaire, Volney, and Paine. A club 
whose members professed these sentiments, was formed 
and exerted its legitimate influence, and as a result the 
Sabbath was virtually ignored, and systematic efforts 
were made through the club to oppose Christianity and to 
such an extent that it passed into a proverb "that Sunday 
could not find its way west of the Genesee." A narrative 
of the state of religion in 1811, as found in the report of 
missionaries, ventures the opinion that the country bor- 
dering on Lake Erie was "among the most destitute in the 
United States." To this sad story may be added that of 
the Rev. R. Phelps : "In many of the settlements the state 
of society is truly deplorable. Scarcely is the form of god- 
liness visible. The Sabbath is awfully profaned, and God's 
name is dishonored in various ways. Infidelity abounds to 
an alarming degree, and in various shapes." 

'Immigration Cooperation. — The tide of immigration 
continued, and with increasing volume, to pour into the 
central portion of the State ; that is, up the valley of the 
Mohawk and in the lake region. Meanwhile the church or- 
ganizations increased, but in a less proportion. The several 
missionary societies, as far as they were able, sent min- 
isters and licentiates to supply the religious wants of the 
people. It was the custom of the settled pastors to devote 
a portion of their time in preaching tours among the more 
destitute churches and settlements. 

The presbyteries frequently designated the portions of 
the country to be visited, and the preachers for that ser- 
vice. In this evangelist work the Congregationalists and 
Presbyterians labored in unison. 

The General Assembly gave its unqualified sanction to 



PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH CONTINUED. 287 

this cooperation in evangelical work, but it was found more 
advantageous for the promotion of the cause to depute its 
management largely to the synods and presbyteries, with- 
in whose bounds the missionary labor was to be done. As 
the entire church was interested, the assembly took mea- 
sures to secure a certain amount of supervision by means 
of the annual reports of its standing committees. In ac- 
cordance with this arrangement the portion of the country 
known as Northern Pennsylvania, Western and Central 
New York, came under the care of the Synods of Pitts- 
burg, Geneva, and Albany. 

In 181 1 the Ontario Association, following the example 
of the Middle, dissolved itself, and its churches and min- 
isters united with the Presbytery of Geneva. It is to be 
noted that the boundaries of these several presbyteries and 
associations overlapped one another, and as they were 
prosecuting the same work it was evident the latter could 
be more effectively accomplished under the control of 
one organization than of two or three. From this time 
forward for a number of years, there is no record of which 
we are aware of any Congregational association being 
formed in the State of New York. 



XXX. 

Settlements and Churches in the West. 

The Settlement of Marietta. — As early as 1785 the Con- 
tinental Congress commissioned a Mr. Hutchins to sur- 
vey the territory a portion of which afterward was in- 
cluded within the bounds of the present State of Ohio. 
The institutions of the church were introduced into that 
region when the settlement was made at Marietta on the 
Ohio river. This site was selected from others that were 
almost equally attractive. The visitors to that wilderness 
brought back glowing, but in the main fair, descriptions 
of the fertile soil which, when compared with that of New 
England, was apparently inexhaustible. They told of the 
great beauty of the scenery along the rivers ; of the mag- 
nificent forests of stately sugar-trees, whose product was 
so necessary to the comfort of the household; the great 
oaks and the large black-walnut trees, and many other 
varieties of useful woods ; the immense vines climbing the 
trees and loaded with clusters of grapes, while the open 
spaces, where the sunshine could reach the ground, 
bloomed with white-clover and other grasses, and all 
cheered by an abundance of brooks fed by perennial 
springs of crystal water, and in addition to these were 
found iron ore, coal, and salt. No wonder the younger 
portion of the people, especially, were eager to migrate to 
such a land. 

Several bands from the East, mostly from New Eng- 
land, pressed on to inherit this land of promise. Between 
February and June, 1788 — the year in which the Constitu- 



SETTLEMENTS AND CHURCHES IN THE WEST. 2Bg 

tion of the United States was adopted — 4,500 persons 
passed on their way by Fort Harmer, according to the 
report of the officer in command. One of these migrating 
companies set out from Danvers, Mass., in December, 
1787, and in January, 1788, one from Hartford, Conn. 
They had the canvas coverings of their wagons labeled: 
"To Marietta on the Ohio." They passed through the 
intervening States and reached the east end of the famous 
Braddock military road at Wills Creek, now Cumberland, 
Maryland, and passed on it over the mountains. On the 
west side, for some unknown reason, instead of taking the 
nearer route down Redstone creek to the Monongahela, 
they went down the Youghiogheny to where the village 
of West Newton now stands. Thence in a crude flat- 
boat which they built, they floated to the Monongahela 
and on to the Ohio, and then down to the mouth of the 
Muskingum, and landed on April 7, 1788, where Marietta 
now stands. The number of persons who arrived safely 
was only forty-seven instead of the one hundred who at 
first designed to be of the party, but numbers of the latter 
joined the colony in after years. 

The plan for the migration was devised by Gen. Tup- 
per, who had been an assistant of Surveyor Hutchins, and 
also an officer in the Revolution. He was greatly aided in 
the enterprise by Rev. Dr. Manassah Cutler of Massachu- 
setts, and a number of other prominent gentlemen. Con- 
gress gave substantial aid in granting lands on liberal 
terms. George Washington commended the movement 
highly, saying: "I know many of the settlers personally; 
and there never were men better calculated to promote the 
welfare of such a community." 

The progress of the first year of the settlement was very 
satisfactory, but soon after the settlers began to be an- 
noyed in various ways by hostile Indians, such as stealing 
horses and capturing and plundering unprotected flat- 



290 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

boats loaded with needed supplies. These depredations 
continued till August, 1794, when Gen. Wayne's over- 
whelming victory dispersed their savage enemies. (Four 
Hundred Years, etc., p. 680.) 

Story, Lindsley, Hughes. — The first minister we have 
note of in this connection was Rev. Daniel Story, a native 
of Boston and graduate of Dartmouth College (1780), 
who nine years afterward began to preach in Marietta, and 
also in two other places in the vicinity — Waterford and 
Belpre. At Marietta, in the winter, the block-house was 
used as a place of worship, and in the summer services 
were held under the shade of immense forest trees. No 
church was organized at Marietta till 1796; about that time 
came missionaries who were sent by the Synod of Pitts- 
burg. Rev. Stephen Lindsley, a licentiate of the Presby- 
tery of Ohio, began his labors as pastor of a Presbyterian 
congregation in 1803; three years later the Rev. Samuel 
Prince Robbins from Connecticut, also entered upon his 
duties as pastor of the original church of Marietta — the 
presumption is it was Congregational. 

It is stated that the Rev. Thomas E. Hughes was the 
first permanently settled pastor north of the Ohio. He 
was a graduate of Princeton (1797), and studied theology 
under the direction of Dr. John McMillan, and was li- 
censed to preach by the Presbytery of Ohio. 

Immigrants were rapidly flowing into these regions, 
and new settlements were forming from time to time, 
especially in the southwestern portion of the State, as that 
section was more easily reached by water than was the 
interior by land. 

Cincinnati Founded. — The fertile soil of the territory 
between the two Miamis had attracted much attention, 
since Daniel Boone, when a captive (1778) among the 
Shawnees Indians, who lived in that region, made the fact 
known on his return home. The Hon. Cleves Symmes, 



SETTLEMENTS AND CHURCHES IN THE WEST. 29 1 

in order to verify the truths of these accounts of the rich- 
ness and beauty of the territory, made a personal visit for 
investigation. 

Symmes had been a member of Congress from a district 
in New Jersey. He now projected a settlement in that 
region. A company of thirty persons through his influ- 
ence was induced to migrate thither (July, 1788). They 
went by land and were fully equipped to begin a settle- 
ment. They had four wagons, each drawn by four horses. 
They reached their destination in about six months, and 
laid the foundation for the city of Cincinnati (December 
28, 1788), by forming a settlement on its site. Shortly 
after the colony had an accession of fourteen persons. 
They all went to work in the primitive forest, and built a 
few log cabins, and block-houses as a protection against 
hostile Indians. In a year's time the population was 
"eleven families and twenty- four bachelors." This was in 
addition to the United States garrison which had been 
sent to guard the infant settlement. Troublous times 
were caused by hostile Indians, and it was not till after 
Gen. Wayne's victory that the residents felt secure from 
their savage enemies. 

Several settlements meantime were made in the sur- 
rounding country, but they were greatly hampered in their 
progress for a number of years by the continued fear of 
attacks from the Indians. For this reason immigration 
almost ceased till the power of the latter was broken; 
after which event the settlers had peace and continued 
prosperity. 

The First Church Organized. — In laying out the town 
in 1789, the settlers, a majority of whom were from New 
Jersey, and presumably Presbyterians, designated certain 
lots for a church building and school-house. The follow- 
ing year "Father" Rice of Kentucky organized a church 
which afterward was known as the First Presbyterian 



292 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Church of Cincinnati. The congregation took formal posses- 
sion of the premises thus set apart for religious purposes, 
but for a long time they were unable, for lack of means, 
to erect a suitable church building. They usually met 
for worship in a horse-mill, and in private houses, till they 
were able to build. The Rev. James Kemper, of the 
Synod of Kentucky, came in 1791 to minister to them, 
and so great was the joy in the prospect of having a set- 
tled pastor that a large number of the church members 
volunteered to escort him from Kentucky across the river 
to his new charge. A subscription was at once commenced 
to raise funds to build a church edifice. Meanwhile, the 
weather permitting, the people met for worship in the open 
air, on the designated lots, after having cleared a suffi- 
cient space from the native forest. They sat upon rude 
logs, hewn smooth on one side, each man having his 
trusty rifle by his side. The following year a church 
building was finished, and the four lots originally dedi- 
cated for religious purposes were enclosed; they were 
on the corner of Main and Fourth streets. 

After Mr. Kemper left (1795) the church then had a 
membership of 226, in which were included the names of 
the baptized children, who were regarded as subjects of 
discipline. It had no settled minister till 1808, when 
Joshua L. Wilson became its pastor. He was a native of 
Virginia, but removed with the family to Kentucky. He 
was licensed to preach in 1802, and two years afterward 
we find him pastor of two Presbyterian churches, one at 
Bardstown and the other at Big Spring, Kentucky; from 
the latter he was called to Cincinnati to the pastorate of the 
First Presbyterian Church, which he faithfully served for 
thirty-eight years. About this time the town — in modern 
phrase having a boom — began to increase very rapidly in 
population and in general prosperity, while the churches 
grew in proportion. 



SETTLEMENTS AND CHURCHES IN THE WEST. 293 

It will be noted that the early settlements in the State 
of Ohio were on its southern border along the river of 
the same name, and afterward they extended gradually 
toward the north, the pioneers being attracted by the fer- 
tility of the valleys of the tributaries of that river, such 
as the Miami and the Scioto. Numerous isolated settle- 
ments were made; the more prominent at that time were 
those of which, respectively, the towns of Dayton, Chilli- 
cothe, and Columbus were the centers. These three were 
the first — namely, Revs. James Welch, Robert G. Wilson, 
and James Hoge — to have stated Presbyterian pastors of 
their churches. Meanwhile devoted missionaries were 
traveling and preaching in the smaller and scattered set- 
tlements throughout the entire region. It was estimated 
that in 1810 the population of all these amounted to 
25,000 

Settlements in the Reserve. — During this period a 
stream of immigrants was pouring into the northeastern 
portion of the State. These came principally from the 
States of Massachusetts and Connecticut, and they located 
on the Connecticut or Western Reserve. These settlers 
brought with them their love for the gospel and for a free 
and liberal education, and in consequence churches and 
school-houses were soon established wherever there was 
a population sufficient to sustain them. These churches, 
for the most part, were Presbyterian and Congregational, 
the latter predominating, though there was very often the 
blending of the two in Christian fellowship, when circum- 
stances authorized such a union of the membership in the 
churches. 

Ministers of the Ohio Presbytery. — The Synod of Pitts- 
burg, from its position, had easier access to the churches 
and settlements in the Reserve than any other ecclesi- 
astical body. One of its presbyteries, the Ohio, availed 
itself of this privilege, and sent numbers of missionaries to 



294 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

these destitute churches. The presbytery itself, as well 
as its individual members, manifested great ability and 
enterprise and true devotion to the cause of preaching 
the gospel in the settlements that were constantly forming 
by the multitudes of people who were coming from as far 
east as Massachusetts. Realizing its responsibility in the 
premises, the presbytery supplied, as far as possible, licen- 
tiates and ministers, who in turn, by their arduous labors 
and self-denial, exerted an influence that indirectly tells 
for good even to this day. The ministers thus sent by 
the presbytery were welcomed by the churches on the Re- 
serve, and between them existed cordial relations. Though 
the Reserve belonged originally to Connecticut, the ma- 
jority of the inhabitants, in 1813, were not from New 
England. 

Prominent among the earlier preachers sent by the pres- 
bytery, was Rev. William Wick, a native of Long Island, 
but who removed to Western Pennsylvania with his 
father's family ; received his education at the Academy at 
Canonsburg, studied under Dr. John McMillan, and was 
licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Ohio, 
August 28, 1799. Under its direction he entered upon his 
duties as a missionary to the people of the Reserve, where 
he became the first settled minister, when, in 1800, he 
was ordained and installed pastor of the Presbyterian 
churches of Youngsibwli ana Hopewell. He made, how- 
ever, yearly preaching tours among the neighboring des- 
titute churches; in this he was sustained by the Connec- 
ticut Missionary Society. After three years his church at 
Youngstown was blessed with an extensive revival. One 
of its subjects was Thomas Barr, who afterward studied 
theology, was licensed to preach, and became one of the 
most laborious and successful preachers of the time in the 
Presbyterian Church. 

Rev. Joseph Badger. — The name of Joseph Badger de- 



SETTLEMENTS AND CHURCHES IN THE WEST. 295 

serves remembrance perhaps more than any one of the 
many devoted missionaries and pastors who blest these 
regions by their labors. He was sent as their first minister 
to the Reserve by the Connecticut Missionary Society. 
He preached his first sermon in that region in the Presby- 
terian Church in Youngstown. 

Badger was a native of Massachusetts, born at Wilbra- 
ham, in 1757; his parents w r ere intimate friends of the 
sainted David Brainerd, whose mantle seems to have fallen 
on their son Joseph. Immediately after the battle of Lex- 
ington, though in his eighteenth year, he entered the army 
of the patriots. He participated in the battle of Bunker 
Hill, and went with Gen. Arnold in his expedition 
against Quebec. After two years of service he was com- 
pelled by almost fatal ill-health to be discharged from the 
army, though two months after his arrival at his home 
he volunteered to aid in repelling the British under Gov. 
Tryon, who had just burned Danbury, Conn. (1777). 
His health having been restored, he again enlisted in the 
army, but when his term of service expired he found him- 
self penniless, as his pay in Continental money was nearly 
worthless. Meanwhile, becoming a Christian, he deter- 
mined to obtain an education. The progress in his prepa- 
ration was slow, but his energy enabled him to surmount 
every obstacle. To secure means he often labored at the 
loom, and sometimes taught school. At length he pre- 
sented himself to be examined for entrance into Yale, and 
being accepted, he struggled through, often doing menial 
service round the college. He graduated, and after study- 
ing theology was licensed to preach, and for a number 
of years was pastor of a church in Blanford, Mass. Then 
his sympathies were specially drawn toward the destitute 
settlements of the West, and at his own request he was 
dismissed to enter upon the duties of a missionary under 
a commission from the Connecticut Society. The follow- 



296 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ing month he set out on horseback for his distant field 
of labor in the Reserve. During the winter and spring 
he traveled over the southern portion, preaching to desti- 
tute congregations. The badness of the roads, often only 
bridle-paths, did not deter him, neither did the swollen 
streams, which he taught his horse to swim. In the sum- 
mer of the same year he visited the other portions of the 
region, finding his way to Cleveland. 

The Presbytery of Ohio, about this time, requested Mr. 
Badger to accompany the Rev. Thomas Hughes in a mis- 
sionary visit to the Indians in Detroit. He reported : 
"There was not one Christian to be found in all that re- 
gion, except a black man, who appeared to be pious." 
The missions to the Indians by both the Congregational- 
ists and the Presbyterians were, for the most part, unsuc- 
cessful, and for that reason they were, about this time, par- 
tially suspended. Under the influence of their medicine 
men, they refused to accept the good white man's religion ; 
but preferred the bad white man's whisky and to imitate 
his evil habits. 

Soon after Mr. Badger's return from this mission he 
set out for home, to report to the society under whose care 
he was. His health, meanwhile, was so broken by ex- 
posure and toil that he required assistance in mounting 
his horse, to which he could scarcely cling. Nevertheless, 
he resolutely pursued his journey, though weakened by 
disease, for which he daily took medicine, and by hunger, 
for on a portion of his five-days' travel in the wilderness, 
he was compelled to resort to chestnuts for food. At 
length he reached the town or settlement of Hudson, 
where from necessity he rested for a while. Meantime, he 
organized a church at Austinburg (October, 1801), con- 
sisting of fourteen members — eight men and six women. 
In course of time he reported to the society, and also an- 
nounced his intention of removing to the Reserve with his 



SETTLEMENTS AND CHURCHES IN THE WEST. 297 

family, which consisted of a wife and six children, and to 
devote the remainder of his life to preaching the gospel in 
that destitute region. 

We find him a month or two later setting out on his long 
and laborious journey, with his worldly effects on board a 
four-horse wagon, which served the purpose of a carriage 
and also a tent for the family. In that inclement season, 
when his progress was retarded by a storm which covered 
the ground with snow two feet deep, he put his wagon- 
bed upon runners and hurried on, and after two months of 
such unprecedented toil, he arrived, in the early spring, 
at Austinburg. Within two weeks more his humble log- 
cabin was put up, in which was a floor of native earth, 
but neither chair nor table, nor even a door, while the 
chinks between the logs were unfilled. It was now time to 
plant a garden ; that essential work he left for his wife and 
family to do, while he himself, as in duty bound, set out 
on a preaching tour from which he did not return till the 
middle of the following June (1802). 

In order to have more fully the sympathy of brother 
ministers, about this time he connected himself with the 
Presbytery of Erie, which had been recently set off (1801) 
from those of Ohio and Redstone. When asked why he, 
a Congregationalist, wished to change his church rela- 
tions, he answered: "I believe you are ministers of the 
gospel. I am alone; I need your watch and counsel." 
He ever after acted in evangelical work in connection with 
the Presbyterians. We have not room to go further into 
detail concerning his trials, privations, and incessant 
labors. 

Woman's Self-denying Labors. — In closing this sad 
story of labor and toil under numerous distressing circum- 
stances there is presented a phase of the subject that de- 
serves the attention and ought to enlist the earnest sym- 
pathy of all Christians. It is a sad fact, in the histories of 
21 



298 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the Presbyterian Church in the United States, that the 
self-denying labors of the women who have been the wives 
of devoted ministers of the gospel are virtually ignored; 
their names and noble deeds left to be recorded in a book 
that will be open for inspection in the Judgment Day alone. 
They shared toils with their husbands; cheered them in 
hours of gloom that so often overshadow the homes, espe- 
cially of missionaries on our frontiers. The wife of the 
home missionary to-day may not have to endue trials simi- 
lar to those of Mrs. Badger, in her long and toilsome win- 
ter journey, which was devoid of comfort and replete with 
deprivations, that the wives of ministers of to-day cannot 
realize when they travel. But there are other discomforts 
equally as pungent in giving pain to the educated, refined, 
and sensitive wife, who has left her home, delightful in 
its associations, to share with her husband in the new set- 
tlements the trials and deprivations incident to frontier 
life. The labors of the wives of ministers are not limited 
alone to those of missionary life. Self-denying wives are 
found in cultured and refined associations, where they 
are truly helpmeets for their husbands, to relieve them of 
many domestic and annoying cares that interfere with the 
proper preparation for the pulpit or other pastoral duties. 
Tradition tells that the great Jonathan Edwards once 
asked his wife if the grass in the meadow ought not to be 
cut. The answer was "My dear, the hay has been in the 
barn three weeks." No doubt there may be exceptions, 
but, on the other hand, are multitudes and multitudes of 
the type of Mrs. Edwards. It is a sad reflection; but 
throughout the history of the Presbyterian church, when- 
ever we read of the lack of material support for its min- 
isters and missionaries, it always implies sufferings en- 
tailed upon their wives and children. 

Population and Preachers. — Immigrants continued to 
pour into the Reserve, and the Connecticut Society, 



SETTLEMENTS AND CHURCHES IN THE WEST. 299 

though it could furnish the means to support them, had 
not the men to supply the religious wants of these people, 
and at the end of a struggle lasting six years, it had only 
one missionary in the field. The great distance and the 
numerous obstacles in the way of travel had, no doubt, 
much to do in preventing ministers and their families 
migrating thither, while the pressing religious wants of 
the churches nearer home, as fields of prospective useful- 
ness, were equally urgent in demanding their services. 

The Synod of Pittsburg came to the rescue, as it was 
nearer the scene of operations and had, also, more young 
men about to enter the ministry. The Canonsburg 
Academy had developed into Jefferson College (1802); 
in past years the students of the former in an unusual 
proportion had devoted themselves to the sacred office, 
and the same ratio was kept up in the college. Num- 
bers of these students had become Christians during the 
great revival in that region, already noted {p. 231). The 
labors of these men were not without success, since in 
1808 it was estimated that nearly twenty churches had 
been organized, while in addition were many preaching 
stations, with the prospect of their becoming established 
congregations. The region of the Reserve was blessed 
repeatedly by revivals; the missionary tours of Revs. 
Joseph Badger and Thomas Robbins, and preachers from 
the Synod of Pittsburg, were often greatly blessed. The 
General Assembly, also, aided the cause by sending quite 
a number of missionaries who traversed the new settle- 
ments that were constantly forming in the desirable and 
fertile districts outside the Reserve. 

Among these immigrants were great numbers who had 
been church members in their Eastern homes, and they 
appreciated at their full value the services of these 
preachers. In addition, they were all in favor of pro- 
moting education for their children. In some places 



300 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

where they had no preaching, these Christians estab- 
lished prayer-meetings and conducted them as best they 
could. The leaven of former instruction received in their 
youth was working among them and preparing the way 
for a fuller reception of the gospel when presented in 
after years by a more settled ministry. This is virtually 
a summary of the reports made by the traveling min- 
isters and missionaries, who went from place to place 
in preaching to the feeble churches that had only a few 
members, and were dependent upon the Synod of Pitts- 
burg and the General Assembly for their supply of 
preachers. 

The war between England and the United States 
(1812-1815) had a most deleterious effect upon the spir- 
ituality of the churches throughout the Nation. In no 
section of the Union was this disastrous influence more 
vividly felt than in the Reserve, as some of the exciting 
scenes of the war occurred on Lake Erie and around its 
shores. {Four Hundred, etc., pp. 630-640.) Everywhere 
in these scattered settlements, when in their normal condi- 
tion, the traveling missionary was heartily welcomed by 
the people. 



XXXI. 

Increase of the Church. 

The growth of the Presbyterian Church from 1816 to 
1826 is shown from statistics. At the former date the 
number of presbyteries was forty-three and at the latter 
eighty-six. Meanwhile the five hundred and forty min- 
isters had increased to more than eleven hundred and 
torty, and the nine hundred and forty churches had be- 
come more than two thousand. The number of church 
members in 1816 was less than 40,000, but in 1825 
was more than 122,000 — an increase of three- fold in less 
than ten years. It will be remembered that 1816 was the 
first year after the close of the War of 181 2, and the 
latter's evil influence lingered long among the churches 
and the people outside of them. As a general rule, during 
this period of ten years there was an unusual prevalence 
of harmony in the promotion of church work, one phase 
of which was an increased interest in favor of minis- 
terial education. Collateral with the latter was an effort 
to promote the cause of missions, domestic and foreign. 

Accessions from Other Bodies to the Church. — Dur- 
ing these years Congregational families migrating from 
New England, who came into the vicinity of Presbyterian 
churches, usually united with them, while there were, also, 
accessions in many instances from the Associated Re- 
formed Church. More striking than these were revivals, 
some of which were quite extensive, that prevailed in a 
number of localities. The greater increase in church 
members was in the North and West. This was especially 



302 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the case in Central and Western New York, Ohio, Indi- 
ana, and the neighboring States. The plan of union in 
the first of these States had the effect of promoting Pres- 
byterianism, for the reason mainly that its home was on 
the ground, while the center of influence of Congregation- 
alism was comparatively distant; either form of church 
government was utilized as a matter of expediency ac- 
cording to circumstances. There appeared to be no 
rivalry and jealousy involved, and church members fell 
in with that which seemed the best adapted to the exist- 
ing conditions. 

Reports on Revivals. — During this period the reports to 
successive General Assemblies made mention in almost 
every one of the outpouring of the Spirit within the 
bounds of the different presbyteries, so that there was 
scarcely a locality which at one time or another had not 
been visited. The assemblies of 1819 and 1820 were spe- 
cially cheered by the reports concerning revivals, extend- 
ing from Northern New York down toward the south as 
far as East Tennessee. In the latter year about eighty 
churches were blessed with such seasons of spiritual 
refreshing. The report of 182 1 showed an aggregate of 
conversions from the world within the bounds of the 
church to have been between nine and ten thousand. It 
was estimated that during this period of ten years not less 
than 50,000 were added to the church from the world as 
the outcome of revivals. 

Board of Missions. — In 18 16 the assembly increased 
the membership and the power of its Committee on Mis- 
sions, and changed its name to the "Board of Missions." 
The members of which board were to be elected annually 
by the assembly, and it was empowered to appoint mis- 
sionaries at its discretion, and also provide for their sup- 
port and designate the amount of salary to be paid. On 
this occasion the idea was suggested for the first time 



INCREASE OF THE CHURCH. 303 

that the Presbyterian Church should be ex officio, a mis- 
sionary society, as the command was to the collective 
body of the disciples to preach the gospel to all nations. 
The time, however, had not yet come to carry into effect 
that theory, since there were other denominations in con- 
nection with that church engaged in missionary enter- 
prises, and in addition there were indications that a soci- 
ety on missions might be formed that would unite in the 
effort with the Presbyterians, the Reformed Dutch, and 
the Associate Reformed. A constitution was drawn up 
by a committee appointed for the purpose, and which was 
approved by the committees of the three bodies above 
mentioned. Finally, on July 28, 1817, the society was 
duly organized under the name: "The United Foreign 
Missionary Society." (Gillett, II. , p. 217.) 

The assembly of that year in its pastoral letter gave its 
sanction to such missionary associations, to Bible socie- 
ties, and plans for the distribution of religious tracts, 
and also exhorted its church members to support them 
"vigorously" with their contributions. Within a short 
time, to the care of this society were transferred the sta- 
tions and likewise the funds of the New York and the 
Northern missionary societies, and other similar organi- 
zations in the State, as the work could be carried on more 
efficiently, their efforts being thus concentrated. The 
receipts of funds for the society show that the church 
members became more and more interested in the subject, 
and in proportion recognized their responsibility. For 
illustration, in the first year they contributed $2578; in 
the second, about $3400, and in the third, more than 
$15,000 

Efforts for an Educated Ministry. — The Congregation- 
alists of New England were zealous to have an educated 
ministry, and local educational societies were organized 
in those States, and also within the bounds of the Pres- 



304 A HISTORY OF .THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 

byterian Church in other States. The Board of Educa- 
tion was established in 1819, in view of the demands for 
ministers. In a worldly point of view the inducements 
are very small for young men to enter upon the expense, 
the laborious study and trials in preparing for the sacred 
office. Under these conditions the obligation of the church 
to furnish ministers of the gospel for her service is similar 
to that of the United States to provide educated officers 
for its army and navy at West Point and Annapolis. 
The cadets of the Nation are not only lodged, clothed, 
and fed at the public expense, but they have the assurance, 
when they graduate, of employment at a liberal salary. 
The West Point cadet has only four years to serve as a 
student, while the Presbyterian theologian has in his 
whole course of study usually nine years, and under ex- 
pense the whole time. Meanwhile, the Educational Soci- 
ety is careful to furnish only a small moiety of that ex- 
pense. He, it is true, is taught self-reliance in the school 
of self-support, or nearly so, and when he graduates and 
is licensed to preach he turns to the church for employ- 
ment as a missionary or a pastor, on a mere pittance of 
a salary, and that sometimes uncertain. The student who 
under such conditions seeks the sacred office must be 
actuated by a higher motive than pecuniary gain. 

The great number of feeble congregations in the vari- 
ous presbyteries was startling, and the General Assembly 
of 1825 called upon the churches "to consider very seri- 
ously the case of the destitute parts of our country, 
especially of the many thousands of families in the new 
States in the West and in the South, which are growing 
up almost destitute of the preaching of the gospel and of 
all religious instruction." (G., II. , p. 228.) The problem 
of the future of the Nation, in relation to its Christian 
character, was earnestly urged in support of domestic 
missions, not only by means of preaching the word, but 




Rev. Gardiner Spring, D. D. 

(248, 249, 472.) 



INCREASE OF THE CHURCH. 305 

in giving encouragement to the cause by sustaining those 
institutions that promote the education and general wel- 
fare of the people at large. 

Revivals in Colleges — Theological Seminaries. — Dur- 
ing the period under review several colleges were blest 
with revivals, and, in consequence, the number of pro- 
fessing Christians among the students had much in- 
creased. In three such institutions — Union and Hamil- 
ton, New York, and Princeton, New Jersey — the number 
who professed themselves Christians was one hundred 
and ten; of these, seventy were in Union. Dr. Eliphalet 
Nott was then President of Union. To supply the wants 
of the churches the question of having more theological 
seminaries was now earnestly agitated. The presby- 
teries of Northern and Central New York succeeded in 
having one established in 1820 at Auburn in that State. 
A similar question was most earnestly discussed for a 
year or two among the churches in Western Pennsyl- 
vania, Ohio, and Kentucky. The outcome was the West- 
ern Theological Seminary, which was located in 1826 at 
Allegheny, Pennsylvania. In the South, about the same 
time, Union Seminary, in connection with Hampden- 
Sidney College in Virginia, received a new impulse from 
the same cause. It had been retarded in its progress by 
an insufficient endowment, and at the request of the trus- 
tees, it was taken under the care of the General Assembly 
in 1826. 

Churches in Need of Pastors. — The continued increase 
of the churches was faster than they could be supplied 
with pastors, though in the ten years, 18 16 to 1826, the 
number of missionaries sent out annually by the board 
had increased from fifty to more than eighty. To meet 
these numerous demands the efforts of the board became 
more systematized, and more attention was given to aid 
feeble churches then in existence to become self-support- 



306 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ing, and thus permanent centers of Christian influence, 
rather than to organize new ones, to linger along for a 
few years and then, perhaps, die for want of proper care 
and sustenance. The tendency of the times was toward 
concentrated efforts, that might be more effective than 
those that were so much diffused by the action of local 
societies, which were doing their duty as best they could, 
but by their desultory measures much power and influence 
were lost. In view of these obvious reasons, in 1822 a 
movement was inaugurated that finally united several local 
missionary societies in the State of New York, into one, 
"The United Domestic Missionary Society/' The latter 
organization was the outcome of a convention of dele- 
gates from the local societies, numbering altogether 
eleven, whose names we need not enumerate, and all of 
whom were engaged in the same evangelical work. One 
prominent evil was neutralized by this consolidation. A 
number of these local societies were so situated that their 
assumed boundaries sometimes overlapped one another, 
and this circumstance, though inadvertently, led to rival- 
ries which greatly interfered with the progress of the 
work. 

The officers of the new society issued to the public a 
summary of the reasons for uniting all of these organiza- 
tions under one control, which reasons appear to have 
been satisfactory if we may judge from the increased con- 
tributions to the cause. Under the former desultory mode 
''fiome destitute regions had been regularly visited by 
missionaries of these different societies, while others 
equally in need had been passed by." The new society 
entered upon its duties with twenty-nine missionaries 
in the field under its control, while it hoped "to excite a 
fresh and deeper interest in the cause of home missions/' 
As an indication of its work: "Its first report showed 
that within twelve months of its formation it had in its 



INCREASE OF THE CHURCH. 307 

employ sixty missionaries, mainly within the bounds of 
the State. This report took decided ground in favor of 
aiding, specially, the feeble churches to become self-sup- 
porting, and making that feature prominent, hereafter, 
in organizing new churches. The auxiliary societies, six 
in number, were "entitled to designate the stations where 
the funds which they contributed were to be employed 
in supporting missionaries." The appointments of the 
latter, were however, in the hands of the main society, in 
order to secure uniformity. Sometimes the application 
of such funds was left to the discretion of the General So- 
ciety. (Gillett, II., pp. 227-229.) 

The General Assembly of 1819 commenced a mutual 
correspondence with the synod of the Associate Reformed 
and Dutch Reformed churches; this had been asked for 
some twenty years before, but for some reason declined. 
The Associate Reformed entered into the arrangement and 
the Dutch Reformed three years later. 

Action of the Charleston Association. — The Charles- 
ton (South Carolina) Association appointed a committee 
to investigate the principles of the Presbyterian Church as 
to its mode of government and other distinctive features. 
In consequence of the favorable report of the committee, 
the association voted (1822) to dissolve itself and unite 
with the Presbyterian Assembly, which resolution was 
carried into effect the following year. To meet the case, 
the assembly constituted the Charleston Union Presbytery 
so as to include the ministers of the association with a por- 
tion of those belonging to the Harmony Presbytery. 

Action on Psalmody — Intemperance — Sabbath Dese- 
cration. — The assembly of 18 19 directed its attention to 
providing a suitable book of Psalmody, to be used in 
church services. The outcome of the measure was not 
published till 1830, when the book was adopted by order 
of the assembly. 



308 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Successive assemblies during this period endeavored to 
direct public attention to a number of questions that had 
arisen among its members and congregations, in respect 
to certain evils and their moral bearing on society at 
large. Among these evils were prominent those of intem- 
perance and Sabbath desecration. Petitions were pre- 
pared and signed by great numbers of Presbyterian church 
members, as well as by a multitude of church members of 
other denominations, and of citizens outside the church 
who recognized the moral obligations to observe the day 
of sacred rest. Similar petitions were presented to Con- 
gress, from time to time, praying for the repeal of the law 
demanding the mails to be carried on the Sabbath day. 

Increased Interest in Missions. — The subject of mis- 
sions at home and abroad had become an absorbing topic 
in religious circles, and a monthly concert of prayer for 
missions was agreed upon in order to elicit an interest in 
the cause. This movement often received the approbation 
of the assembly, and in the session of 1830 it specially 
directed the attention of its own churches, and likewise 
those of other evangelical denominations, to the impor- 
tance of this union or monthly concert of prayer. At these 
concerts it was the custom, in addition to the service of 
prayer, to give the recent information obtained from the 
respective mission fields. The latter phase of the monthly 
concert has been virtually superseded by the numerous 
periodicals published exclusively on the missions and kin- 
dred subjects by the several evangelical denominations. 
Owing to these circumstances the monthly concert has 
been more or less discontinued. 

The great good to be received by the training of chil- 
dren in Sunday-schools during this period was recog- 
nized by the assembly at its full importance, and the cause 
was recommended to all the churches. Numerous exam- 
ples of the blessed influence of instructing children in 



INCREASE OF THE CHURCH. 309 

this manner in Bible truths, were afforded, especially in 
the cities, wherein were greater facilities for prosecuting 
the work among the children of the foreign population 
and of others outside the evangelical churches. 

A Deliverance on Slavery. — The assembly of 1818 was 
noted for a deliverance, as it is termed, on the subject of 
slavery, and which condemned the system as unchristian, 
and expressed the desire for its total extinction, but at 
the same time deprecating any measures that might en- 
danger the tranquillity of the country. It exhorted the 
members of the church, who were so unfortunate as to 
be in contact with the system, to do their utmost to give 
religious instruction to the slaves. It expressed its sym- 
pathy for those portions of the church upon which the 
evils of slavery had been entailed, saying : " When a great 
and the most virtuous part of the community abhor 
slavery, and wish its extermination as sincerely as any 
others." 



XXXII. 

Increase of the Church Continued. 

The progress of the church from 1825 to 1835 was un ~ 
usually rapid. The number of synods increased from 
fourteen to twenty-three, and the presbyteries from 
eighty-one to about one hundred and twenty-five. The 
number of ministers in 1825 was one thousand and eighty, 
but ten years later it was about two thousand eight hun- 
dred, and during the same period the churches numbered 
seventeen hundred and seventy, while the church mem- 
bership had more than doubled, amounting in round num- 
bers in 1835 to more than two hundred and fifty thousand. 
This unusual increase was the outcome of numerous and 
extensive revivals, which, during the period, extended 
almost over the entire Union. These revivals induced re- 
newed action in favor of union measures for evangelical 
labors throughout the land. In promotion of this work, 
plans for the first time were devised by the evangelical 
denominations to place the Bible in every family in the 
Nation, and special efforts were made by Presbyterians 
to organize Sabbath-schools in the valley of the Missis- 
sippi. The American Tract Society, then recently brought 
into existence, greatly aided the cause by the liberal dis- 
tribution of religious tracts and books. The temperance 
reform continued to be discussed in the churches. This 
reform went hand in hand with the revivals of the period. 
On the same line special attention was given to the 
monthly concert of prayer for missions, both foreign and 
domestic. 



INCREASE OF THE CHURCH CONTINUED. 3II 

Increased Missionary Effort. — During this time an 
ardent religious sentiment seemed more than usual to per- 
meate the inner life of the church members of all the 
denominations. As they realized more correctly the great- 
ness of the religious destitution of the land. In conse- 
quence, the churches began to press forward with un- 
wonted zeal to remedy these evils by sending missionaries 
to supply, as far as possible, the existing religious wants ; 
and in addition they took measures to support these la- 
borers in their Christian work. On this line of evangel- 
ical effort were organized a number of local missionary 
societies which in time became auxiliary to the national 
society. By this means the attention of church mem- 
bers in such localities and in their immediate vicinity 
was more fully directed to the importance of the cause of 
domestic or home missions. 

Of these local associations, the Western Missionary 
Society of Utica, New York, formed in 1826, was per- 
haps the most effective, as it sent out ministers whose 
sphere of labor was extended to about fifty towns and 
villages in the State ; — it is said that in eight of these vil- 
lages no church had yet been organized. Among other 
local societies was one in connection with the First Presby- 
terian Church in Philadelphia, and likewise one in Monroe 
County, New York ; both of these did effective work. To 
promote unity of action and more efficient work, these 
local societies in the various portions of the Union, when 
the necessities of the time demanded the change, became 
auxiliary to the Home Missionary Society. 

A convention of the friends of home missions met in the 
City of New York in 1826, during the May anniversaries 
and proposed a comprehensive plan, in order to concen- 
trate the efforts of all the local organizations. The out- 
come of the convention was the formation of the Ameri- 
can Home Missionary Society, with which, in due time, 



312 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the local organizations became affiliated as auxiliaries. 
The United Domestic Society, formed in 1822, was the 
first to fall into line. The new society, in the extent of its 
plan, became national in character, and accordingly as- 
sumed the responsibilities, financial and otherwise, of the 
various locals that became its auxiliaries, the latter pass- 
ing over to it the missionaries under their care. 

The list of the first officers of the society, about twenty 
in number, comprised the names of great influence in their 
respective denominations — the Congregational, the Dutch 
Reformed, and the Presbyterian. The organization of 
this society, so national in its character and purpose, gave 
great satisfaction to these three denominations. It was 
hailed with joy throughout the country, if we may judge 
from the letters of congratulation that its management 
received, especially from the South and West, the regions 
wherein its ministrations were so greatly needed. 

Influence of the First Address. — The first address is- 
sued by the committee to the churches, which were to aid 
the cause by their contributions, confirmed with great 
earnestness the purely national character of the society in 
its object and in its plan of operation. It announced that 
its aim was not to interfere "with the benevolent exertions 
of those who might deem it their duty to act apart from 
its advice." It was preeminently a voluntary association 
to send the gospel in its purity to the destitute portions of 
the Union, while the upright, practical, and christian 
character of its officers was a guarantee that its operations 
would be judiciously managed and the disbursements of 
its funds carefully made. Its missionaries went forth in 
the name of Christ, to be cheered by receiving a cordial 
welcome wherever they came. This was specially the case 
in the South and West. 

Eastern Christians soon became largely interested in 
the subject, because the agents of the society and its pub- 



INCREASE OF THE CHURCH CONTINUED. 313 

lications made known more clearly and definitely the re- 
ligious wants in the various destitute regions of the 
Union. It was discovered very soon by investigation that 
to supply properly these demands of the people of the 
Western States alone, would require at once five hundred 
ministers, in addition to the three hundred already in the 
field, while equally urgent requests for preachers were 
coming in from the South and Southwest. Even in the 
older States were numerous weak churches that were 
languishing for spiritual food. Under these circum- 
stances the inauguration of a missionary society, so com- 
prehensive in the outlines of its intended operations, was 
hailed with joy and enthusiasm, especially in the Presby- 
terian and Congregational churches. 

As has been indicated, the spirit of missions was abroad, 
and while a number of local societies had done a local 
work, there were large sections in the Union that were be- 
yond the influence of Associations so limited, both in men 
and funds, and the numerous facilities that naturally in- 
crease in proportion to the number of men and the amount 
of pecuniary means. At that time, no one of the three 
denominations specially interested was sufficiently strong, 
either in the number of its church members or in the 
available funds at its command, to sustain a missionary 
society that was truly national in its character. It was 
in the future when their numbers and financial circum- 
stances would authorize any one of these denominations, 
singly and alone, to sustain a society that could station its 
missionaries in every portion of the Union. 

Destitution in New York, Pennsylvania, and the Great 
Valley. — In Western New York in 1828 there were about 
fifty Presbyterian churches vacant or but partially served, 
while were coming urgent calls from fifty more in dis- 
tricts that were almost destitute of any Christian ministra- 
tions. Similar statements were made in relation to the re- 
22 



314 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ligious condition of the northern portion of Pennsylvania. 
In Ohio, within the bounds of the Synod of the Western 
Reserve, were eighty-seven churches, and within the same 
limit only forty-two Presbyterian ministers, while the 
churches were, for the most part, not having many mem- 
bers each. It ought to be taken into consideration that 
where now are rich farming regions and villages, there 
were then only scattered settlements, while the greater 
portion of the territory was unoccupied. The larger tide 
of immigrants for some time had been going through and 
past Ohio into the States of Indiana and Illinois. 

In 1827 it was estimated that Indiana had nearly 300,- 
000 inhabitants ; the region bordering on the Wabash river 
was fast filling up because of its exceptionally fertile soil. 
Within the limits of the State, however, were only twelve 
resident Presbyterian ministers, and about the same num- 
ber who were missionaries, traveling from place to place, 
and about sixty churches, some of whom with scarcely 
more than a name. In the State of Illinois were only six 
or seven settled Presbyterian pastors, while in the State of 
Missouri were five or six missionaries of the same church. 
The Presbytery of Detroit, Michigan, had only seven 
ministers in 1830, when the territory had a population of 
30,000. Further south, in Kentucky, with a population of 
quite 600,000, were only forty settled Presbyterian pas- 
tors. The number of ministers of the same denomination 
in East Tennessee was small, indeed, compared with that 
of the population and its religious wants, while the west- 
ern portion of the State was even less supplied with Pres- 
byterian ministers. To meet the demand for such preach- 
ers the Synod of Tennessee resolved in 1827 to found a 
theological seminary in connection with Cumberland Col- 
lege, which had recently been placed under another name 
— Nashville University — and better auspices, when Dr. 



INCREASE OF THE CHURCH CONTINUED. 315 

Philip Lindsley assumed its presidency in 1824. For some 
reason the seminary was not established. 

The Church in New Orleans and Mobile. — From the 
extreme South the cry for ministers came equally as 
urgent. In New Orleans, with a resident population of 
nearly 50,000, which in the business season swelled to 
70,000, was only one Presbyterian church. The latter 
had been gathered by Dr. Elias Cornelius and the elo- 
quent Rev. Sylvester Larned; of this church Rev. Theo- 
dore Clapp was pastor (1827). Outside of that city were 
only two Presbyterian ministers in the State of Louisiana, 
while west of the Lower Mississippi was not one. The 
Presbytery of Mississippi then included that State and 
Louisiana, and with a total population of nearly three 
hundred thousand there were altogether twelve Presby- 
terian ministers and only nine of these were engaged in 
active and stated work. 

The Presbytery of Alabama was earnestly calling for 
ministers to supply the vacant churches within its bounds. 
The church in Mobile was organized in 1827, with one 
hundred and twelve members, but they could only obtain 
preaching once a month by Rev. Lucas Kennedy, who was 
commissioned (1819) as missionary by the General As- 
sembly. The people had gone to work earnestly and 
erected a building to serve as a church, an academy, and a 
Sunday-school room. Urgent calls continued to come to 
the presbytery from Pensacola and from Tuscaloosa and 
the vicinity. 

The Church in Huntsville. — The Young Men's Evan- 
gelical Missionary Society of New York sent to Hunts- 
ville, Rev. Isaac W. Piatt (1819). In this prosperous 
village was no organized Presbyterian church or stated 
ministry, yet Mr. Piatt testifies that : "Its inhabitants will 
suffer nothing by a comparison with those of most other 
towns in our country, as respects intelligence, refinement, 



316 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

and wealth." The town, because, perhaps, of its beauty of 
situation, became a favorite summer resort of the wealthy 
planters in the South. In consequence, in after years 
Huntsville held an enviable position in the educational 
world by means of fine schools, especially for young 
women. Through Mr. Piatt's exertions and influence a 
handsome church building was erected. About this time 
Presbyterian churches were established in Tuscaloosa, 
Tuscumbia, Selma, and other places in the State. The 
whole number of Presbyterian ministers, including settled 
pastors and missionaries, in the State in 1825 was seven- 
teen. 

The Church in Georgia, Carolinas, and Florida. — Other 
churches continued to be organized in this tier of South- 
ern States. Georgia had a great number of vacant 
churches, while there were only seventeen ordained Pres- 
byterian ministers in the State. Meanwhile the number 
of churches was increasing five-fold faster than that of 
the ministers to supply them. A similar reign of desti- 
tution prevailed in the Carolinas and Florida. In the east- 
ern portion of the latter was a population of 6000, mostly 
in the vicinity of St. Augustine, in which village vice was 
represented as bold and rampant, gambling houses were 
licensed by law, and intemperance prevailed unblushingly. 
In St. Augustine was organized in 1824 the first Presby- 
terian church, through the exertions of Rev. William 
McWhirr. He ordained elders and administered the or- 
dinances of the church, then went to work to raise money 
in order to build a suitable dwelling for the new church 
and persevered till he had accomplished that most de- 
sirable object. 

South and North Carolina Churches. — The Presbytery 
of South Carolina was composed of twelve members, but 
within its bounds were thirty-five churches (1827), which, 
in the main, were not self-supporting, and some were even 




Rev. Philip Lindsley, D. D. 

(315, 497-499-) 



INCREASE OF THE CHURCH CONTINUED. 317 

on the border of extinction. The ministers, in order to 
meet the wants of the people as best they could, supplied 
more than one church, even three and four, and they 
often a number of miles apart. 

The Presbyterian churches of North Carolina were at 
this time equally destitute of the stated supply of the min- 
istry, and in like manner was the portion of Virginia west 
of the Blue Ridge, while in the eastern part were numer- 
ous vacant churches, and others, having been so long 
without stated preaching, were almost on the verge of 
dissolution. Reports from missionaries and others re- 
vealed the religious wants of Maryland and Virginia east 
of the Blue Ridge. Even the church building at Drum- 
mondstown, in which Makemie had preached, was a ruin, 
and the one on the banks of the Nanticoke, where Presby- 
terians once worshiped, had totally disappeared. Within 
the boundaries of the Presbytery of Lewes, in Delaware, 
were about eight churches, but it numbered only four or- 
dained ministers. 

The Church beyond the Mountains. — The reports from 
the field of ministerial labor beyond the mountains, north 
and south — that is, in the valley of the Mississippi — made 
known as the great destitution of the churches, and un- 
ceasingly urged their fellow Christians of the East to 
come to their assistance by sending them the gospel. 
Many of these looked for help to the assembly's board, 
but more, after its organization, to the concentrated fa- 
cilities found in the Home Missionary Society. 



XXXIII. 

Theological Seminaries. 

Founding of Theological Seminaries. — The increasing 
demand for preachers of the gospel led to an earnest 
effort to educate a ministry for the purpose, and it was 
evident more seminaries were required. The Synod of 
Geneva, at a meeting held in Rochester in 1818, urged 
the propriety of establishing one somewhere in Western 
or Middle New York. The following May the proposi- 
tion was laid before the General Assembly. The latter 
body, though not prepared to assume the responsibility of 
establishing and sustaining such an institution, yet it did 
not oppose the plan. After much discussion, a partial en- 
dowment being provided, the outcome was the founding 
in 1820 of a theological seminary, located at the village 
of Auburn. A board of commissioners to supervise the 
institution was selected from the presbyteries interested in 
the cause. In October, 1821, the professors having been 
chosen, it commenced operations. Dr. James Richards 
was elected Professor of Theology, but did not enter upon 
his duties till 1823, his place being supplied by Dr. M. L. 
B. Perrine of New York, who was Professor of Eccle- 
siastical History and Church Polity. In after years the 
institution continued to be manned by equally able and 
learned men. 

The same reasons led to a theological department being 
connected with the college at Hudson, in the Reserve. 
This seminary labored under great difficulties for a num- 
ber of years. Its students at one time numbered about 



THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES. 319 

forty, but there seemed to be impediments in the way of 
complete success — at least for a time (1828). 

The Presbyterians of Indiana took measures (1828) to 
promote a higher education, and at first they established 
a classical academy, under the care of Dr. John F. Crowe, 
and which afterward grew into South Hanover College. 
It is worthy of note that in its earlier days a large ma- 
jority of its students were professing Christians. To 
this college was added in 1830 a theological department, 
in which Dr. John Matthews was unanimously chosen 
Professor of Theology by the Synod of Indiana, and Dr. 
Crowe by the same authority was appointed second Pro- 
fessor. 

Western Seminary, Allegheny. — The lack of ministers 
still continuing, the Presbyterians, especially of Kentucky, 
desired to have a theological seminary modeled after that 
of Princeton, and if possible located within their own 
State. The matter was brought to the attention of the 
General Assembly in 1825. It was deemed essential by all 
the parties concerned that the prospective seminary should 
be located in the Great Valley, but it was difficult to decide 
where should be that location. After much discussion in 
the presbyteries and in the newspapers — religious and 
secular — Allegheny, in Western Pennsylvania, was chosen 
by the assembly as the site for the institution (1827); 
more funds could be secured for that location. That posi- 
tion was on the eastern edge of the valley, and therefore 
it did not meet satisfactorily the wishes of the more 
western presbyteries, and measures were taken to have a 
theological seminary located further west, under the plea 
that its location should be nearer the center of the popula- 
tion of the Union and also of the valley. This center of 
population, according to the first census, in 1790, was 
east of Chesapeake bay, near the thirty-ninth parallel of 
latitude. It has moved west from census to census, and 



320 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

at the time of the location of this seminary (1827), was 
almost directly south of the city of Allegheny, and near 
the same parallel. It is remarkable that this center has 
thus far crossed and recrossed the thirty-ninth parallel 
four times. The census of 1890 places it in the State of 
Indiana, at a point about fifty miles west by north from 
Cincinnati, and not far from the same line. The center 
of the territory of the United States — excluding Alaska 
— is near Abilene, Kansas, and also near the thirty-ninth 
parallel. {Four Hundred Years, etc., p. 1092.) 

The result of this agitation was the founding of Lane 
Seminary at Walnut Hills, near Cincinnati. The name 
was given in gratitude. 

Lane Seminary. — Two brothers, whose name was 
Lane, residents of Boston, gentlemen of intelligence, 
liberal and patriotic, and of far-reaching views, on visit- 
ing the Great Valley, learned of the religious wants of its 
people. Impressed by the situation, they deemed the most 
feasible means to supply these wants would be a theo- 
logical seminary, where young men seeking the ministry 
could study theology among the people for whom they ex- 
pected to labor. The Messrs. Lane were Baptists, and 
they first offered the funds they proposed to give to their 
own denomination; the latter, however, was not prepared 
to accept the proposition. The object was so important 
in their view, that they paid the Presbyteries the compli- 
ment of offering the funds to them. 

This institution, as originally designed, was to have two 
departments — a literary and theological. The former was 
the first to go into operation, but it was afterward trans- 
ferred to Miami University, over which Dr. Robert H. 
Bishop then presided. The theological department lan- 
guished for lack of funds. At length Mr. Arthur Tappan 
of New York City proposed to endow a professorship of 
theology if Dr. Lyman Beecher should be appointed to 



THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES. 32 1 

the chair. The proposition was accepted, and Dr. 
Beecher, then in the height of his influence, was installed, 
September, 1832. 

Religions Condition of the Great Valley. — Previous to 
this time, the attention of American Christians, especially 
in the Northern and Eastern States, had been drawn to the 
religious conditions of the Great Valley. Multitudes were 
migrating thither from the States east of the Alleghanies, 
while perhaps as many were pouring in from Europe. 
About twenty years previous the center of the population 
of the Union had come within the valley, and from census 
tt< census, was steadily advancing westward — along the 
thirty-ninth parallel, which it crossed back and forth four 
times — apparently, the time was not far distant when 
here would be also the center of the political influence of 
the Nation. Far-seeing minds, both in Church and State, 
began to forecast the ultimate outcome of the movements 
of these energetic and ever-progressive people. Thou- 
sands upon thousands of church members, sad to say, 
who came from other States, appeared to have grown 
careless in respect to their religious vows. To the Chris- 
tians of the East came, however, the cry from their breth- 
ren in the valley, who were still faithful, for more preach- 
ers of the gospel, in order to counteract the undue influ- 
ence of infidelity and irreligion. In addition, was a great 
influx of immigrants of European birth, industrious and 
frugal, and good citizens, but the majority were imbued 
with the indifference so characteristic of German ration- 
alism, in respect to the essential principles of Christianity. 
This statement applies more justly to Cincinnati and 
vicinity than to any other locality of the valley. 

Such was the state of religious affairs when Dr. 
Beecher entered upon his duties as professor in Lane 
Seminary. He was fresh from his conflicts in Boston 
with Unitarianism, and with the multiform evils of in- 



32 2 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

temperance, and who, by his boldness of speech and his 
impressive personality, was, perhaps, the only man of the 
time that could effectually withstand the pressure of the 
evils then prevalent in the West. He might impress his 
strong individuality upon his students and send them 
forth imbued with his own zeal, if not with his pungent 
eloquence. These were the hopes cherished by the in- 
telligent Christians, who were thus able to appreciate the 
religious and political conditions of the Great Valley. Nor 
were they disappointed in Dr. Beecher himself; but un- 
toward circumstances, to be noted further on, unfor- 
tunately, for a time, retarded the onward flow of his 
legitimate influence. 

Seminary at Marysville. — The Southern and Western 
theological seminary is known as Maryville College, and 
is located at that place, in Blount County, East Tennessee. 
It was under the control of the synod, and was do- 
ing a good work. It stood isolated from any similar 
institution by a distance of 400 miles {see Log Col- 
leges, pp. 127-137), and yet it was in a central position, 
amid an estimated population of two millions. Here was 
adopted the manual labor system, by means of which the 
individual expenses of the students were somewhat re- 
duced by their earnings. The success of the institution 
was not then as great as its merits seemed to justly de- 
mand; it has since grown in its usefulness, and at this 
writing (1899) its students of all classes number 450. 

The demand for more ministers pervaded the church 
in the Southwest, and the Presbytery of Mississippi, 
though comparatively weak in financial resources, re- 
solved to establish a theological seminary within its 
bounds. The outcome of the movement was not as in- 
tended, but resulted in founding Oakland College, in 
Claiborne County (1830), which did good service in the 



THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES. 323 

cause. The Rev. Jeremiah Chamberlain was its first 
president. 

Union Seminary, Virginia. — In Southern Virginia, 
Union Theological Seminary, though much crippled for 
funds, for a number of years had been strenuously en- 
gaged in its appropriate work. At length, by request of 
the Board of Trustees, it was taken under the care of the 
General Assembly in 1826. The celebrated Dr. John 
Holt Rice was appointed a professor. He entered upon 
his duties with his usual energy, and soon afterward vis- 
ited the cities of Philadelphia and New York in order 
to obtain funds to place the institution on a firm basis. 
The churches of the former city gave ten thousand and 
those of the latter thirty thousand dollars. Within the 
Synods of Virginia and North Carolina an additional 
twenty thousand was obtained. 

The reader will observe that this unusual interest in 
establishing and aiding theological seminaries was during 
£. period of about ten years. It is gratifying, also, to note 
that the general interest in this subject has never flagged 
since. The church members having been true to their 
traditions, as best they could, have gone hand in hand 
with the presbyteries in furnishing funds for providing 
and sustaining both colleges and theological seminaries. 
Collateral with these movements during this time were 
special efforts made to aid young men who desired to 
preach the gospel in securing an appropriate collegiate 
and theological education. 

In intimate connection with the theological seminaries 
should be recognized the healthful influence exerted by 
the management of the colleges founded within the Great 
Valley. We have already noticed (p. 132) two academies 
or schools, the precursors of two colleges — Washington 
and Jefferson — that were and continue to be prominent in 
that respect. They had the advantage of being early in 



324 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the field, commencing their career as soon as they were 
needed to supply the educational and religious wants of 
the settlers in that fertile region of which Pittsburg may be 
deemed the center. It is stated on good authority that the 
number of graduates from Dr. McMillan's school and 
afterward from Jefferson College, who became ministers 
of the gospel, was much greater in proportion than any 
other college in the Union. 

Dr. Matthew Brown. — Entered upon the presidency of 
Jefferson College in 1822, which office, because of declin- 
ing health, he resigned in 1845. He was a graduate of 
Dickinson College in 1795, when it was under the presi- 
dency of the celebrated Dr. Charles Nisbet. Presbyteri- 
ans owe him a debt of gratitude for what he did during 
these twenty-two years in the promotion of education 
and of religion within the college itself and outside that, 
indirectly, for the advancement of their own church 
through the labors of the students whom he had trained. 

What was the secret of this benign influence? In his 
sphere of usefulness as president of the college, Dr. 
Brown did all that was possible under the circumstances 
for the promotion of genuine scholarship, while in his re- 
lation as pastor of the students he was peculiarly suc- 
cessful. He was accustomed to visit them in their rooms 
and pray with them ; within a few weeks after the com- 
mencement of the college session he would visit every new 
student and learn of his antecedents, of which he took 
note. He often urged the older students to meet the new 
ones in a kindly manner, and, as he expressed it, make 
them feel at home. In consequence, the barbarous and 
vulgar custom of hazing was never known at Jefferson. 

His innate fondness for young persons attracted to him 
all the worthy students; he won their respect by the 
scholarship that he manifested in his department, and se- 
cured their love by his kindly care, so blended with sym- 



THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES. 325 

pathy; decided in character, his influence was an ever- 
present stimulant for the best students to labor in their 
respective duties. During his administration of twenty- 
two years there were eleven revivals of religion in the 
college. The services connected therewith were held at 
hours so as not to interfere with the regular duties of the 
college — the latter he never would relax. His theory was 
that regular duties faithfully performed were not a hin- 
drance, but rather a stimulant, to religion. At one time 
during his presidency, with only one exception, every 
student in the college was a professing Christian. Let 
results testify. During Dr. Brown's presidency seven 
hundred and seventy students were graduated; of these, 
nearly one-half chose the gospel ministry as their pro- 
fession. That this spirit thus received an impulse which 
still prevails, we infer from the fact that since the union 
of the two colleges, Jefferson and Washington, in 1865, 
more than forty per cent, of the graduates have devoted 
themselves to the sacred office. (S Prague's Annals, IV., 
p. 258. President Moffat's Historical Sketch, p, 2/,) 



XXXIV. 

Louisiana Bought. 

The acquisition of Louisiana by purchase in 1803 had, 
in a business way, increased the interest already felt by 
the American people in the lower portion of the valley of 
the Mississippi. This might be said specially of those 
who lived west of the Alleghanies, and in the valley of 
the Ohio, who now, by way of the great river, had free 
outlet for their products to the outside world and to the 
markets on the Atlantic slope. These products were car- 
ried in huge flatboats down to New Orleans, and there 
transferred to ships, and thus taken to their destination. 

This lower region was easy of access by means of the 
many tributaries to the main river, and in consequence, 
even before its purchase, quite a large migration had gone 
thither. Natchez and vicinity being an attractive locality, 
numbers had settled there, and the church soon began to 
follow these settlers with a preached gospel. The re- 
ligious wants of the people of these distant settlements 
had, through the missionaries to the Indians, become 
known to the Synods of the Carolinas and Virginia, since 
to them, because of their location, naturally fell the super- 
vision of these missions. The Synod of the Carolinas, 
therefore, directed the Presbytery of Orange, North Caro- 
lina, to ordain James Smylie (1804) as a missionary to 
be stationed at Natchez, at which place he had previously 
labored. The Rev. James Hall of North Carolina, a 
veteran in the cause of Presbyterianism in the South, had 
also, under a commission of the General Assembly (1800) 



LOUISIANA BOUGHT. 327 

labored in Natchez and vicinity. He was assisted by two 
other brethren, who were commissioned by the Synod of 
the Carolinas. Here were established the first Protestant 
missions in the lower Mississippi valley — that is, below 
Vicksburg. 

Indian Mission in the Southwest. — Rev. Joseph Bullen 
was sent in 1799 by the New York Missionary Society to 
labor among the Indians of the Southwest in what is now 
the State of Mississippi. It would seem that the Indians 
in that portion of the country had been hitherto over- 
looked. Bullen, on his journey, visited Rev. Dr. Gideon 
Blackburn, who was then a pastor at Maryville, East 
Tennessee. The latter had been planning to send the 
gospel to the Cherokees, and now, by his intercourse with 
Bullen, he was induced to put forth more efforts in the 
enterprise. He laid the matter before the Union Presby- 
tery, of which he was a member, but the poverty of the 
people was an almost insuperable obstacle in the way of 
the project. 

Blackburn was a commissioner to the General Assembly 
in 1803. He had already devised the outline of a plan to 
carry the gospel to the Cherokee Indians. He appeared 
before the committee to which his paper was referred, 
and explained to it the importance of such missionary 
effort being made, and also demonstrated the feasibility of 
the plan. In the end he secured from the assembly an ap- 
propriation of two hundred dollars to aid in support of the 
mission. The recommendation of the assembly enabled 
him to obtain about four hundred dollars additional among 
his friends in East Tennessee, after his return from the 
meeting of the assembly in Philadelphia. 

Dr. Blackburn had already enlisted in its favor the 
Indian agent of the government, Col. Return Jonathan 
Meigs, while the President, John Adams, also sympa- 
thized with the movement and directed Col. Meigs to aid 



328 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the cause. A council of about two thousand Indians — 
Cherokees and Creeks — was held and the proposed plan 
of giving them instruction, such as is given to the children 
of white men, was explained to them. The Indians, after 
some delay in consulting among themselves, approved the 
measure, and the mission was commenced in 1804. Dr. 
Blackburn labored incessantly in the cause, practising 
great self-denial in hjis individual exertions and con- 
tributing much from his own limited means toward de- 
fraying the necessary expenses. He went on a tour 
through a portion of the South in order to obtain funds, 
and succeeded to the amount of fifteen hundred dollars. 
The following year (1805) ne visited the North, and re- 
turned with more than four thousand dollars, all of which 
he used judiciously. This missionary enterprise was en- 
tirely in individual hands, and was thus sustained. It had, 
however, the commendation of the General Assembly, and 
was effective in its work until the evil influences exerted 
by the War of 181 2 wrought its ruin. 

Indian Missions in Georgia. — Some years later (1817) 
the missions to the Cherokees and Creek Indians came 
under the care of the American Board. The latter com- 
missioned the Rev. Cyrus Kingsbury to labor among 
them as missionary and teacher, and soon after the Choc- 
taws were brought within the influence of the mission. 
The chiefs of these tribes were anxious to have schools 
like the white men. The location chosen for the mission- 
station was at Brainerd, thus named in honor of the 
devoted Indian missionary. The mission at this place 
largely increased in the number of pupils and also in 
competent teachers, some of whom were laymen with 
their families, to give instruction in civilized domestic life. 
For some reason in 1822 the mission was divided and the 
members distributed among the tribes. The number of 
converts in the course of years led to the organization of 



LOUISIANA BOUGHT. 329 

four churches, which were in connection with Union Pres- 
bytery, East Tennessee. 

Removal of the Indians. — For twenty years the good 
work of Christianizing these sons and daughters of the 
forest had gone on prosperously, and as a result great 
numbers, especially of the younger portion of their several 
communities had adopted civilized modes of living. A 
dark cloud of misfortune was overhanging this prosperity. 
It first presented itself in the agitation of the question as 
to the removal of these Indians to a territory beyond the 
Mississippi. This cruel and unjust measure was carried 
out to the letter in 1833-1835. The State of Georgia ob- 
tained possession of their lands, their private dwellings 
and their cultivated farms and improvements, at a price 
which avarice dictated — their school-houses and church- 
buildings went to ruin. Their missionaries, Dr. Elisar 
Butler and Rev. S. A. Worcester accompanied them to 
their distant and wilderness homes, and continued to labor 
for their good. In this cruel, illegal and arbitrary act 
the President — Andrew Jackson — disregarded the solemn 
treaties of the government with these Indians and the 
recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States 
in their favor. (Four Hundred Years, etc., p. 706.) 

Individual Influence. — It is worthy of notice, that in 
evangelical work in the South that individual men exerted 
more personal influence than individual men did in the 
North. The reason for this statement may be found in the 
general intelligence of the people at large, being much less 
in the South than in corresponding classes in the North. 
This difference in the diffusion of useful knowledge 
among the Northern people was owing to the prevalence 
of public schools, wherein all the youth were made read- 
ers, while in the South the public school system, as it was 
in the free-labor States, was then unknown, and none 
but the well-to-do slaveholders could educate their chil- 
23 



33© A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

dren. Meantime, the great mass of the youth in that 
respect were woefully neglected. In a state of society thus 
constituted, it was reasonable that the educated man 
would loom higher in public estimation than in a com- 
munity wherein much greater intelligence prevailed. 

Dr. Charles Coffin. — Among the most devoted and 
prominent ministers who labored in East Tennessee 
was Charles Coffin. He was a native of Newburyport, 
Mass.; graduate of Harvard, studied theology under 
the direction of Dr. Daniel Dana of Ipswich, and 
of Dr. Samuel Spring of his native town. When 
a boy he was remarkable for his precocious intel- 
lect, and for his ardent zeal for knowledge, and withal for 
his uprightness of character. He graduated with a 
high reputation for his proficiency in the studies prose- 
cuted in the college course. He was licensed to preach the 
gospel in 1799 by the Essex Middle Association. Not 
being of robust constitution and his usual health having 
been impaired, it was thought best for him to undertake a 
preaching tour in the South. He, in consequence, minis- 
tered for a season to a small Presbyterian congregation 
in Norfolk, Virginia, which met in the town-hall. After- 
ward, he traveled on horseback southwest through Vir- 
ginia and North Carolina, finally reaching Greenville, 
Greene County, East Tennessee. For a season he preached 
in that region, meantime becoming much interested in the 
college located at that place, and in its prospective use- 
fulness. Remaining sufficiently long to make himself fa- 
miliar with the situation, in relation to the educational and 
religious wants of the people, he returned to the East in 
order to enlist the benevolent in procuring funds for the 
college as a promising field of great usefulness. 

Obtaining what funds he could as an endowment of the 
college, he came back to Greenville, and identified himself 
with it as vice-president (1805). The Rev. Hezckiah 



LOUISIANA BOUGHT 331 

Balch being president, at whose death Dr. Coffin was 
elected his successor (1810). Here as president he la- 
bored for seventeen years, performing the duties of his 
office with great efficiency, when he was called to the 
presidency of East Tennessee College — now University of 
Tennessee — at Knoxville. After six years of successful 
labor his health failed and he was compelled to resign. 

During all these years he was remarkably blessed in his 
preaching and building up churches ; still greater, was his 
benign and lasting influence over his students. His fine 
scholarship, and clear judgment and decision of character 
commanded this respect, while his amiable, generous, and 
courteous manners won their love. "Even to old age his 
intellectual energies were fresh and his activity scarcely 
abated. Long will his memory live in the region in which 
he was known and loved, and in which he scattered seed 
for harvests that succeeding centuries will reap." (G. II., 
p. 206.) The Master withdrew him from his work at the 
age of seventy-eight. 

Isaac Anderson. — The Rev. Dr. Isaac Anderson is an- 
other minister who deserves to be remembered with grati- 
tude by the entire Presbyterian Church, as well as his con- 
temporary fellow-citizens and their descendants, for whom 
he labored during his long life. Of Scotch-Irish descent, 
and imbued with the influence of the traditions of the 
principles for which his ancestors fought at the siege of 
Derry, he was by heredity a genuine Protestant of the 
Presbyterian type. His father, a farmer of Rockbridge 
County, Virginia, where the son was born, migrated in 
1799 to Grassy valley, Knox County, East Tennessee. 
The son was then nineteen years of age, but the year 
previous he had consecrated himself to Christ. 

He had studied for several years at Liberty Hall Acad- 
emy, under the care of Rev. Dr. William Graham, cele- 
brated in that day as a classical teacher. He made great 



332 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

proficiency in his studies, and until he became a Christian 
his intention was to enter the legal profession, but the 
cause of the Redeemer loomed so high that the anticipa- 
tions of future distinction in that line vanished in com- 
parison with the importance of preaching the simple gos- 
pel. In preparing for the ministry, Rev. Samuel Carrick 
was his first theological instructor, but the talented pupil 
soon outstripped the teacher, and began to ventilate specu- 
lations which at that time Carrick deemed unorthodox, 
and in after years the same view was held by Anderson 
himself. 

Carrick was by no means able to cope with the meta- 
physical dogmas of Hopkinsianism — a fruitful theme of 
controversy in that day — as presented by his precocious 
pupil, and he handed him over to Dr. Gideon Black- 
burn, then at Maryville, Tennessee, in charge of a church 
and of the college. Almost at their first interview the 
instructor and the pupil entered upon a discussion of the 
then controversial questions of theology. This friendly 
and candid discussion lasted long into the night, and 
ended in the conviction of the young student that his 
theories were not sound according to the scheme of the 
gospel as revealed in the Word of God. Afterward, 
Anderson expressed his sentiments by saying he found his 
"head as empty as a barrel," and "his whole system of 
theology completely set aside and utterly demolished." In 
due time, after much study and prayer, he came to look 
upon the views of Blackburn as "sound, scriptural, and 
true." 

Anderson was licensed to preach by Union Presbytery 
in April, 1802, and soon after was installed pastor of 
Washington Church. Here he remained nine years. He 
happened to own a farm, perhaps by inheritance, and he 
cultivated it to eke out the pittance of a salary from the 
church. His active mind was ever engrossed on sacred 



LOUISIANA BOUGHT. 333 

themes, and he preached the gospel without intermission, 
not only in his own congregation, but arranged for making 
extensive preaching tours throughout that region. Never 
did his energy flag nor his self-denial diminish. 

President of Maryville College. — Nine years after his 
licensure (1811) he succeeded Dr. Blackburn, who was 
called to another field, and finally to be president of Centre 
College, Kentucky. In his new position at Maryville, Dr. 
Anderson found a second sphere of aiding the cause of 
the church. It was suggested by the spiritual desolation 
that prevailed all over that region, and the impression 
seized his mind that the only remedy was in providing 
more ministers. With his wonted energy and Christian 
zeal he took in hand to supply them. He had no material 
means, but he had an inexhaustible fund in his trust in 
God. First he wrote to one or two missionary societies 
in the North ; but they were unable to send him preachers ; 
at last, driven to this extremity, he determined, putting 
his trust in Providence, to do what he could himself. 
He established a school of theology, commencing with a 
class of five (1819). This was the beginning of the 
Southern and Western Theological Seminary, now known 
under its chartered name, Maryville College. The motive 
of the founder may be stated in his own words : "Let the 
directors and managers of this sacred institution propose, 
as their sole object, the glory of God and the advancement 
of that Kingdom purchased by the blood of his only son." 

Dr. Anderson started a boarding-house for the stu- 
dents, and appointed a suitable person to take charge of 
it, meantime becoming himself responsible for the sup- 
plies. Students absolutely unable to pay received their 
board gratis. Oftentimes he did not know how he could 
provide for his score or more of students, but at the 
critical moment the aid would come. Often a plain Chris- 
tian farmer would drive up to the door with his wagon 



334 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

loaded with provisions as a gift to the institution; some- 
times the merchant of his merchandise sent appropriate 
articles ; others, again, at the proper moment sent money. 
Thus the work went on; but we cannot go into detail. 
Let it suffice that Dr. Anderson by these his exertions, 
in the course of forty-two years, sent forth about one 
hundred ministers of the gospel, nearly all of whom were 
Presbyterians. At this writing (1899) this institution has 
about 450 students — male and female. 

The personal appearance of Dr. Anderson is repre- 
sented as being very imposing; the evidence of intellect 
was stamped upon his brow, a kindly expression of coun- 
tenance accompanied a piercing eye; he was conciliatory 
in his manner, and impressed his hearers from the pulpit 
and his students in the class-room with his Christian sin- 
cerity of purpose — as such he was venerated and loved. 
He was released from his earthly labors at the age of 
seventy-seven (1857). 

James White Stephenson. — The Rev. James White 
Stephenson was of Scotch-Irish parentage and a native of 
Virginia, born in 1756, but his childhood was spent in 
the northern portion of South Carolina, his parents having 
removed thither. It is not known definitely where he re- 
ceived his education, but that he had a classical school 
near the North Carolina line, and tradition tells that 
Andrew Jackson was one of his pupils. Stephenson took 
an active part in the War of the Revolution, and afterward 
prepared himself for the ministry, and was licensed in his 
thirty-third year by the Presbytery of South Carolina in 
1789. He at once entered most earnestly upon his active 
duties, and his ministry was remarkably blessed. He was 
specially diligent and prayerful as a pastor, and soon his 
congregation became imbued with a similar spirit. 

Migration of a Congregation. — We now notice a move- 
ment similar to some in earlier colonial times, as, for in- 



LOUISIANA BOUGHT. 335 

stance, when Minister Thomas Hooker, in 1636, led his 
congregation from near Boston through an unbroken wil- 
derness to the fertile valley of the Connecticut. (Four 
Hundred Years, etc., p. 115.) Stephenson became much 
interested in the great field for missionary work in the 
fertile region now known as Middle Tennessee. Num- 
bers of his congregation caught his spirit, and the result 
was that under his lead, in 1808, a caravan consisting of 
twenty families of his congregation set out from South 
Carolina, and after much toil in crossing intervening 
mountains and making their way through the wilderness 
and partially settled regions, reached their destination in 
what is now Maury County, Tennessee. The distance 
was five hundred and seventy miles — more than four 
times as far as Hooker led his congregation. They settled 
on a large tract of land which had been given by the gov- 
ernment to General Nathaniel Greene, in recognition of his 
services during the Revolution; from his heirs they pur- 
chased their homes. 

The congregation of Dr. Stephenson, being in full 
sympathy with him, entered heartily into his plans of 
making known the gospel to the region in their vicinity. 
His church — Zion congregation — was in connection with 
the Presbytery of West Tennessee, and the latter with the 
Synod of Kentucky. The members of the congregation 
took much interest, as individuals, in giving private re- 
ligious instruction to the colored people in their respective 
neighborhoods. 

They also, under their pastor's leadership, engaged in 
practical missionary labors among the Indian tribes with- 
in reach. This became preeminently a Christian colony 
under the fostering care of the pastor, who for twenty- 
four years labored and exerted a remarkable and benign 
influence upon the community at large, till in his seventy- 
sixth year death ended his earthly service (1832). 



336 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Characteristic Zeal. — It was characteristic in that 
early day of the Presbyterian ministers of Eastern 
Tennessee and Kentucky, to be self-reliant and full 
of zeal. Gideon Blackburn, after leaving Maryville 
(1810), we find him the following year at Franklin, 
Middle Tennessee, where he remained about five 
years, preaching with great success, meanwhile having 
charge of Harpeth Academy and a number of theological 
students. He then removed to St. Louis (1816), where 
his preaching attracted great attention, even that of the 
Catholic French population. It is related that a promi- 
nent French lady was much affected, and attended his ser- 
vices regularly. Her priest chided her because she wept 
under his preaching. "You never weep when I preach/' 
said he. The answer was : "If you will preach like Mr. 
Blackburn, I will cry all the time." 

Dr. William W. McLane, in his sketch of Blackburn, 
says: "It was as a preacher, however, that he was spe- 
cially gifted. His commanding presence, his benignant 
countenance, his sweet and silvery voice, his graceful 
gestures, and his fine power of description gave him the 
attention of his audience and control over them." He 
was called to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian 
Church in Louisville in 1825; then, in 1827, to the presi- 
dency of Centre College, at Danville, Kentucky, which 
he resigned in 1830, being succeeded by Dr. John C. 
Young. 

An incident in Dr. Blackburn's early ministry illustrates 
one phase of his character. A slave, John Gloucester, was 
converted under his preaching, who, by his mental gifts 
and ardent piety, attracted the attention of Blackburn. 
The latter, thinking he might be of great use to his race, 
bought him and had him prepare for the ministry. 
Gloucester did so, and was licensed and ordained by the 
Union Presbytery, from which he was dismissed in 1810 



LOUISIANA BOUGHT. 337 

to that of Philadelphia. In that city he was the devoted 
pastor of the African church till his death in 1822. 
That church was organized through the special influence 
of Dr. Archibald Alexander. 

Gloucester commenced as a missionary to his own peo- 
ple in the city. He had musical talent of a high order 
and a strong and sympathetic voice. For a time he 
preached in private houses and in a school-house. In fair 
weather it was his custom to take his place at the corner 
of Shippen and South streets, and commence singing a 
hymn. A miscellaneous crowd would soon collect, and 
then he would preach. He won by his prudence and fer- 
vent piety the confidence of his brethren of the presby- 
tery, and of the entire community. The means were sub- 
scribed and a church building was erected on the corner 
of the streets where he used to preach. In addition, money 
was supplied by friends in England and at home to pur- 
chase the freedom of his family — he, himself, having been 
freed by Blackburn long before. 



XXXV 

New Orleans — The Towns along the River. 

The People of New Orleans. — New Orleans was at that 
time one of the most interesting and most diffi- 
cult fields in the Union for missionary cultivation. 
The original population was peculiarly heterogeneous, 
and as it had quite recently come under the jurisdiction 
of the United States, the mass of the people were unac- 
quainted with American institutions. The French portion 
were nominally Roman Catholic, but not deeply imbued 
with the true spirit of Christianity ; some, the more devout, 
went to mass in the forenoon of the Sabbath, in the after- 
noon desecrated the sacred day in amusements of doubt- 
ful morality. Another class — the boatmen — free from the 
restraints of Christian influence of their surroundings up 
the river, were easily tempted to indulge in gambling and 
sensual vices. To these were added the many sailors on 
shore from ships that represented almost every port in 
the world. The population was also very unstable in its 
numbers; at one portion of the year, the busy season, it 
was about twice that of the dull season. The stated popu- 
lation was in 1804 about eight thousand, and in 1820 it 
was more than twenty-seven thousand. So many of the 
people being only temporary residents was of itself a great 
impediment to the successful preaching of the gospel and 
founding Christian institutions. In addition, the moral 
evils incident to the War of 1812 apparently exerted more 
influence in New Orleans than in any other place in the 
Union. 



NEW ORLEANS — THE TOWNS ALONG THE RIVER. 339 

Elias Cornelius. — The Connecticut Missionary Society 
1 816 sent Rev. Elias Cornelius to make a missionary tour 
in the Southwestern States, but specially enjoined him to 
visit New Orleans. His instructions were to inquire into 
the moral conditions of the city, while preaching as oppor- 
tunity served. He found only one Protestant church in 
the place — an Episcopal. He invited the Congregation- 
alists and the Presbyterians that happened to be in the 
city temporarily, or who were permanent residents, to join 
him in religious services, and to aid in establishing a 
church. Cornelius was indefatigable in his labors, in car- 
rying out his instructions and in preaching every Sabbath. 
He secured a cabin of a ship and there preached to a con- 
gregation of sea captains and sailors, and often during the 
week conversed with the latter personally. He visited 
the hospitals in which were many seamen ; he noticed the 
neglected condition of these inmates and suggested reme- 
dies for the evils present, many of which, in consequence, 
were removed. He also preached to and taught a congre- 
gation of colored people, numbering about two hundred. 

Sylvester Lamed. — On January 22, 18 18, Cornelius 
was joined by Rev. Sylvester Larned, a student of Prince- 
ton, who had been appointed to assist him in the mission. 
The two labored together diligently for three months, and 
succeeded in establishing the first Presbyterian church in 
the city. Cornelius then left for another sphere of useful- 
ness. 

The brilliant young preacher captivated all hearts, and 
the people came forward promptly and, under the circum- 
stances, contributed liberally for the purpose of erecting a 
suitable building, whose corner-stone was laid a few days 
less than a year after the arrival of Larned. The latter, in 
his eloquent manner, manifested the greatest zeal in the 
cause, while all his movements were guided with discre- 
tion, so that he seemed to be specially fitted for the posi- 



34-0 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

tion, but, sad to say, his usefulness was cut short by a 
premature death. 

Religious Condition of Towns along the River. — The 
moral condition of the inhabitants of the towns along the 
river from Vicksburg down was in many respects similar 
to that of New Orleans. There was a large population of 
temporary residents at certain seasons, when the flat- 
boats from the upper country floated down with their car- 
goes of produce. The crews of the latter were for the 
most part indifferent to the claims of the gospel while 
here, but which they recognized more when at their homes. 
The permanent residents had been so much neglected by 
the denominations in the East and the North that they, 
too, were in a sad condition. There were good Christian 
men among these residents who meant well when they 
essayed to preach on their own responsibility, but they 
were so illiterate as to fail in attracting the attention of 
the more intelligent permanent residents, while they re- 
pelled the temporaries who had been accustomed to hear 
an educated minister at their native homes. The settle- 
ments up the Red river in Louisiana were in a similar 
moral condition, if we accept the account of a writer who 
says : "The population of Natchitoches was a conglom- 
erate of various tongues and creeds — Americans, 
French, Spaniards, Indians, and negroes; Roman Catho- 
lics, Protestants of different kinds, deists, infidels, and 
heathen." 

Samuel Royce. — To such communities the Connecticut 
Missionary Society sent the Rev. Samuel Royce (1817). 
He made his journey thither on a missionary tour, and as 
opportunity served he preached to congregations that 
were destitute. He was then only a licentiate, and as such 
connected himself with the Presbytery of Mississippi. He 
commenced his labors on the west side of the river, opposite 
Baton Rouge, on ground "never trodden before by a 




Rev. Charles Hodge, D. D. 

(165, 499-) 



NEW ORLEANS THE TOWNS ALONG THE RIVER. 34 1 

Protestant minister;" that is, one who was properly edu- 
cated for the office. 

Mr. Royce was ere long invited to Alexandria, on the 
Red river, and there he settled. Here he was almost 
entirely isolated from ministerial friends, as there was 
scarcely a brother minister within a hundred miles. He 
labored incessantly, after making missionary tours 
through the adjoining region. Great numbers of his 
hearers had never before heard a Protestant sermon. In- 
fidelity abounded, the French type of which seemed a sort 
of epidemic, extended by means of immigrants, many 
from Kentucky. Now and then he was cheered when 
he happened to be cordially received by Christian men and 
women, who had migrated thither from homes that were 
within reach of gospel privileges. He said : "Their coun- 
tenances and tears, more than words, revealed emotions 
easier to imagine than to express." Here, as far as we 
know, Mr. Royce spent his ministerial life. 

Educational Society. — Dr. Elias Cornelius was ap- 
pointed in 1826 secretary of the American Educational 
Society, which was located at Boston. The following year 
the American and the Auxiliary Educational Society, 
which was Presbyterian and in New York, were united 
under the name American, and three years later (1830) 
the offices of the general society were transferred to the 
latter city, since its location was more central in respect 
to the country at large. 

The labors of Cornelius were remarkably successful, 
especially in New York City, where his presence seemed 
to inspire those with whom he came in contact with his 
own consecrated enthusiasm. The influence spread be- 
yond individuals, and some churches came forward and 
proposed at their own expense to educate a number of 
young men for the ministry. Interest in the cause grad- 
ually penetrated other and distant portions of the 



342 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

church, the effect of which was to greatly increase auxil- 
iary societies and their contributions; the latter, in due 
time, were doubled and also in proportion the number of 
the candidates, which, within two years, reached more 
than two hundred. The society, because of its new loca- 
tion and of its many auxiliaries, secured the prestige of 
being national in its character, as we have seen was the 
case of the other benevolent societies. The hearts of all 
Christians who appreciated the significance of the situa- 
tion rejoiced. 

The assembly's Board of Education had not been nearly 
so successful, as many of the contributions of its own 
churches were drawn off to the society, which had re- 
cently become national in its character, and, in conse- 
quence, its facilities for usefulness were thought to be 
greater, and, moreover, both were evangelical in doctrines 
and designs. The time had not yet come when in num- 
bers, wealth, and influence, any one denomination could 
become national in its character; that is, extend its 
benevolent efforts to all portions of the Nation. 

The American Board. — On the same line the American 
Board of Foreign Missions had acted, and also had been 
so admirably managed in every respect as to secure the 
confidence of the Presbyterians as well as that of the 
Congregationalists, and in consequence to it the former 
gave, for the most part, their contributions. The Board 
had recently introduced, in addition to the monthly con- 
cert of prayer, the custom of preparing papers containing 
accounts of the current progress of the cause of mis- 
sions in foreign lands, and which were published in the 
Missionary Herald. This information, so new and fresh, 
by its diffusion, roused an unusual interest in the subject 
among intelligent Christians, especially in the Presby- 
terian Church. 

The organization known as the New York Missionary 



NEW ORLEANS THE TOWNS ALONG THE RIVER. 343 

Society blended with the United Foreign Missionary So- 
ciety, and under the latter name a plan of union was pro- 
posed with the American Board. The General Assembly 
of 1826 favored such union, though a respectable minority 
did not heartily sanction the movement. The tide of 
influence at that time in the Presbyterian Church seemed 
in a measure to run in favor of voluntary missionary asso- 
ciations rather than in denominational. The United For- 
eign Missionary Society was a voluntary association, and, 
of course, was not in direct connection with the Presby- 
terian Church, though the members of the latter, by their 
contributions, largely sustained its operations. At that 
time, the necessities of the foreign field seemed to require 
the union of the efforts of the two denominations most 
interested in the cause — the Congregational and the Pres- 
byterian. This increased interest in missions to the 
heathen was, evidently, the outgrowth of revivals that pre- 
vailed in the sections of the country in which these soci- 
eties had more specially their home, and the tendency was 
to utilize, as much as possible, the concentrated facilities 
of the American Board for carrying on the work, which 
had already been well organized. 

The American Board took proper measures to enlighten 
the church members on the subject of its work in the 
foreign field by means of the Missionary Herald. As the 
churches thus learned of the trials and the success of these 
missions, they were induced, in view of their own respon- 
sibility, to aid the cause by their contributions. As out- 
growths of this interest, many local missionary societies 
became auxiliary to the American Board; one or two of 
these were as far South as South Carolina and Georgia. 

The Action Ex Officio. — Meanwhile, there was an un- 
dercurrent of thought in the minds of many influential 
men in the Presbyterian Church that the denominations, 
as such, should be ex officio missionary societies. In 



344 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

after years this theory began to be recognized in contra- 
distinction to the voluntary system, though for the present 
the latter appeared to be the more expedient. In due 
time, the denominations having, respectively, increased 
greatly in the numbers of their church members and 
also proportionately in wealth, took up the missionary 
cause, virtually, ex officio, and the results have been grand. 
Their church members and ministers, under these new 
conditions, began to realize as individual denominations, 
their responsibility in the cause more vividly than was 
possible for them to do in connection with mixed or vol- 
untary associations. The several denominations thus en- 
tering independently into the missionary field, has no 
doubt, as facts prove, advanced the cause throughout the 
world much more than if they had continued to act as 
auxiliaries to a vast voluntary association, though it con- 
ducted its work in the best manner that intelligent Chris- 
tian and self-denying men could devise. This result can 
be accounted for on the principle that, on entering upon 
separate mission work, these denominations assumed 
a certain responsibility, the influence of which became so 
diffused as to reach the individual church members, and 
thus the whole body — the rank and file and leaders — 
became imbued with the same spirit and desire to sustain 
the cause. 



XXXVI. 

Numerous Revivals. 

For several years, commencing in 1827, there were 
many revivals in Presbyterian churches throughout the 
Union. These awakenings were more local than univer- 
sal, yet there was an awakened interest in nearly all the 
churches, some more decisive than others, during this 
period, and great numbers on professing their faith united 
with the church. Within the bounds of several presbyter- 
ies in the State of New York occurred a number of reviv- 
als; this was specially the case in those whose bounds 
included the City of New York and up the Hudson to 
and beyond Troy. Many of the churches in the city were 
blessed with powerful revivals. More than a thousand 
persons were added to the churches, and mostly on the 
profession of their faith (1829). The blessed influence 
extended to the western portion of the State and per- 
vaded the churches to an unprecedented extent. The in- 
terest felt was so great that the secular press for the first 
time often noticed the meetings and the progress of such 
spiritual awakenings. This marked work of grace con- 
tinued among the churches of that region for several 
years. The religious services were conducted with great 
zeal, and sometimes measures were introduced that after- 
ward appeared to have been of doubtful utility, but the 
good results far overbalanced the evil of the injudicious 
measures. 

During this period other sections of the country were 
visited by the blessed influence of the Holy Spirit, as in 
24 



346 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Eastern New Jersey and in Pennsylvania. Such was 
strikingly the case in Philadelphia, where a number of 
churches enjoyed scenes of spiritual refreshing, and many 
hundreds within a year or two were added to the churches 
on examination. These revivals extended toward the 
West, and within the bounds of the Synod of Pittsburg 
many of the churches had seasons of the outpouring of 
the Holy Spirit. In these seasons there seemed to be a 
deep pervading religious influence that impressed itself 
not merely upon the Christians but threw a shade of 
solemnity over the non-professors who came in contact 
with the churches. 

Revivals in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. — The State of 
Ohio was also visited, and many churches were specially 
awakened in different portions of the State, but more 
especially in the City of Cincinnati and vicinity. The 
revivals in the city itself were greatly promoted by the 
labors of two evangelists, Revs. James Gallaher and 
Frederick Ross, who came from amid revival scenes in 
Kentucky in order to aid the several pastors of the city 
at the request of Dr. Joshua L. Wilson, pastor of the 
First Church. These evangelists also made preaching 
tours throughout the State, and were greatly blessed in 
their labors. They were characterized as most admirably 
qualified for their special work. Within the year 1828 
there were added to the First Church, alone, on pro- 
fession of their faith, three hundred and sixty-four. Dur- 
ing the same time revivals were progressing in ten neigh- 
boring churches, in which great numbers were converted 
and connected themselves with these churches. The same 
influence extended to the interior of the State, and nearly 
thirty towns and villages are mentioned in the reports 
to the presbyteries, where revivals prevailed during this 
period, and altogether thousands professed to be con- 
verted and joined the churches. To accommodate the 



NUMEROUS REVIVALS. 347 

multitudes who were interested in these religious services, 
the Presbyterians held camp-meetings. The first one being 
under the direction of the Presbytery of Cincinnati, was 
held in the vicinity of that city. Others were held at 
different times and places, and were attended by thou- 
sands, and the preachers were very successful in present- 
ing the gospel to multitudes who perhaps seldom, 
if ever, went to the ordinary church. The meetings were 
conducted with proper decorum, though it was charged 
that questionable methods were sometimes introduced. 
Great numbers professed to have experienced a change 
of heart and on examination were admitted to church 
membership. Leading Presbyterian clergymen in the city 
and State took an active part in conducting these serv- 
ices. These revivals, so general in their characteristics, 
extended into the States of Indiana and Illinois, and great 
numbers of Presbyterian churches scattered over these 
States were visited by seasons of spiritual blessings, 
though the churches therein, for the most part, were 
comparatively feeble in point of the number of their mem- 
bers respectively. 

Revivals in Kentucky, the Carolinas, and Georgia. — 
The revivals were not limited to the States north of the 
Ohio, but passed to the south, and Kentucky was greatly 
blessed. The benign influence was specially felt in the 
towns of Paris, Lexington, Danville, and other places of 
note. Conversions in the State were numbered by thou- 
sands. "The whole aspect of society [in some localities] 
was changed; vices before prevalent and unblushing al- 
most entirely disappeared. " For more than two years this 
interest in religious subjects continued in the State. Pro- 
tracted meetings were held in numerous places through- 
out the country, in order to accommodate the attending 
thousands. The individual churches shared in these 
blessings and great numbers in the aggregate were con- 



348 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

verted. The Synod of West Tennessee, in their narrative 
of religion in 1827, said: "Never before has there been in 
the same length of time, so much attention given to the 
means of grace, or so many additions to the church as 
during the last year." 

The same spiritual influence spread still further 
throughout that southern portion of the Union, it also 
crossed the mountains toward the East, and reached the 
States on the South Atlantic slope, the Carolinas and 
Georgia. In the latter a striking instance occurred in the 
college, now the University of Georgia, at Athens. Pre- 
viously there was not known to be a single professing 
Christian among the students, when in 1822 seven of them 
undertook the Christian work of establishing a Sunday- 
school and to hold prayer-meetings. Five years later in 
the institution commenced a revival of religion among the 
students, and which pervaded the entire vicinity. Presby- 
terian camp-meetings were held in different places in the 
State, which were attended by immense numbers, and 
hundreds were added to the various churches. Says a 
writer (1828) who was conversant with these scenes: 
"I hear daily of hundreds being added to the churches, 
and of thousands inquiring for the bread of life." As 
an outcome, a large number of new churches were organ- 
ized within the State, and the missionary spirit received 
a new and strong impulse, and in consequence a domestic 
missionary society was formed. 

South Carolina also participated in the blessings of 
these revivals, and in that State great numbers of the 
churches enjoyed seasons of spiritual refreshings. Pres- 
byterian camp-meetings were also held to which flocked 
thousands from the neighboring regions, numerous con- 
versions were confessed, while multitudes were apparently 
deeply impressed. The meetings of the presbyteries were 
largely attended, and in consequence the precious influ- 



NUMEROUS REVIVALS. 349 

ence extended far and wide. North Carolina for a time 
seemed to be passed by, when in 1828 the outpouring of 
the Spirit came in answer to the prayers of the faithful. 
The synod of that year reported the admission of about 
four hundred to church membership within its bounds, 
and likewise an increase in the numbers of the ministers 
of the gospel. 

Revivals in Virginia. — The blessed influence also 
reached Virginia, and revivals commenced in many of the 
churches connected with the several presbyteries. Such 
was the case in the churches in the tidewater region, as 
in Norfolk, Williamsburg, and others in that vicinity. 
Quite a number of the churches more in the interior, as 
those connected with the famed Presbytery of Hanover, 
were also blessed by the presence of the Holy Spirit. The 
evangelist, Rev. Asahel Nettleton, whose labors had 
been so much blessed in the State of New York, at the 
special request of Dr. John Holt Rice, visited Virginia. 
In connection with his labors a number of revivals com- 
menced, principally in Prince Edward County, while the 
influence reached the neighboring congregations, and in 
the end extended far and wide throughout the State. 

The Sabbath — Sunday Mails. — For a number of years 
the desecration of the Sabbath had increased to such an 
extent as to arrest the attention, especially of the religious 
portion of the Nation, including all denominations. The 
moral aspects of the subject were discussed extensively in 
the newspapers and in meetings of the people called for 
the purpose. In order to remedy the evil the national 
government in Jackson's first administration was urged 
by numerous petitions to use its influence in the cause 
of good morals, by refraining to carry the mails on the 
Sabbath. There were, also, counter petitions presented 
by those who had no sympathy for preserving the sacred- 
ness of the day. In the lower house of Congress these 



35° A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

petitions were referred to a committee of which Richard 
M. Johnson of Kentucky was appointed chairman. This 
committee made a report in 1830. It is not our intention 
to point out in detail the fallacies of this report, nor the 
sneering innuendoes against the petitioners. 

The Famous Report. — The report had unequivocal in- 
ternal evidence that Johnson did not write it. Dick — as 
his intimates called him — never on any other occasion 
gave evidence that he had been a Sunday-school scholar 
or a learner in a Bible class, but his report bristled with 
Biblical and theological criticisms on the Sabbath laws of 
the Israelites, and so on down through the Christian ages 
to the finishing sentence of the document. For a long 
time the Hon. Amos Kendall had the popular credit of 
writing this report, but in his autobiography he denies 
the charge and says the writer was a Baptist minister at 
whose house Johnson was boarding at the time. 

The animus of that report may be inferred from the fol- 
lowing sentence: "So far from stopping the mails on 
Sunday, the committee would recommend the use of all 
reasonable means to give it greater expedition and a 
greater extension." The italics in this sentence are the 
committee's. The report was received and adopted by 
the House and the committee discharged. 

The report made the assertion that if the government on 
moral grounds refrained from carrying the mails on Sun- 
day, as the petitioners had asked it to do, "that Congress 
in so doing would be legislating upon a religious subject, 
and therefore the act would be unconstitutional," as it 
would be to all intents and purposes a union of Church 
and State! 

When this report was published, a righteous indigna- 
tion, such as was never known before, burst forth from 
the entire Christian portion of the American people. This 
protest and condemnation were, however, treated with 



NUMEROUS REVIVALS. 35 I 

contempt. The composition of the majority of the mem- 
bers of that House of Representatives, and of many 
successive ones, was such as to discourage for a genera- 
tion efforts to secure a better observance of the sacred 
day by the national government. 

Ratio of Representation. — The General Assembly in 
1826 modified the ratio of its members. By the rule 
adopted, that each presbytery consisting of less than 
twelve ministers was entitled to send one minister and 
one elder as delegates or commissioners; if a presbytery 
had more than twelve ministers, it could send to the 
assembly two ministers and two elders. 

The General Assembly has always been accustomed 
from year to year to keep abreast with the movements of 
the age, and to give its influence in favor of benevolent 
societies and of those designed to promote good morals. 
In 1826 it commended to its churches the interests of the 
Colonization Society; in 1827 it encouraged the temper- 
ance reformation, and approvingly noticed the American 
society for the promotion of that cause; in 1828 lotteries 
were unequivocally condemned; and since they were in 
some States sanctioning by law, they were characterized 
as "legalized gambling." 

Statistics of the Church. — The increase of the church 
during four years — 1827- 1830, inclusive — may be in- 
ferred from the number of presbyteries organized to meet 
the wants of the churches, and for the convenience and 
advantage of having frequent intercourse between the 
ministers and the representatives of the church members 
— the eldership. The number of presbyteries thus erected 
was twenty-two. As the boundaries of not one of these 
remain the same to-day as they were originally, it is 
scarcely necessary to record their names. During the 
years mentioned above, and for similar reasons, were 
formed five synods ; these were West Tennessee, Indiana, 



35* A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Utica, Mississippi, and Cincinnati. The membership of 
the churches increased, meanwhile, from "about one hun- 
dred and thirty thousand in 1826 to about one hundred 
and eighty-five thousand at the close of 1830." The 
reader will perceive that this increase was on an average 
of nearly fourteen thousand a year. It is proper to re- 
mark that as a general rule these numbers do not repre- 
sent a perfectly accurate account, as churches sometimes 
failed to report the number of their respective numbers 
to the presbyteries. 



XXXVII. 

Societies — Church — Colleges. 

Home Missions. — As has been already noted, the mis- 
sionary societies, foreign and domestic, or home, includ- 
ing the assembly's board and the Connecticut Society, 
and also the educational, were formed previous to 1820, 
and had become virtually national in the scope of their 
operations. From that time forward home missionary 
work was conducted in connection with these societies 
and without special friction till near the division of the 
Presbyterian Church in 1838. Much attention during 
this period was given to the field designated in missionary 
work as the Northwest and West, thus including the 
States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. The ter- 
ritory of the latter was then the most populous west of 
the Mississippi, St. Louis being a center for trade and its 
most important town. 

[Numbers of preachers of the gospel were sent by these 
societies, who supplied as best they could the churches 
throughout that region, then but sparsely settled, except 
at certain locations. In some of the latter churches had 
become self-supporting, while the others were so scat- 
tered and feeble in the number of their church members 
that they were unable to sustain settled pastors. Mean- 
while the character of the population was continually 
changing, because of the influx of immigrants, some of 
whom came from the Eastern States and others from 
foreign lands. The southern portion of these States bor- 
dering on the north shore of the Ohio had large acces- 



354 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

sions from beyond that river. Most of the latter did not 
wish to bring up their families amid the demoralizing 
influences of slavery, especially upon the inner life of the 
people. Unfortunately, as a general rule, the latter im- 
migrants were not as intelligent as those who founded 
settlements in the middle and northern portions of these 
States. The people of the slave-labor States never had 
the advantages of public schools, while they were only 
partially trained to support the ordinances of the church 
and gospel. On the other hand, west of the Mississippi, 
even before Missouri became a State (1821) but much 
more afterward, because she held slaves and had a very 
fertile soil and fine climate, an immense migration moved 
thither from the slave labor States, not from Kentucky 
alone, but especially from Eastern Virginia and the Caro- 
linas ; they could take with them their slaves, and to better 
their condition they bid farewell to their exhausted fields. 
Organizing Churches. — In giving the gospel to these 
destitute Territories and States the missionaries found 
only a few centers of influence in which to concentrate 
their efforts, but they had to pass from settlement to 
settlement, and preach to the people thus scattered abroad. 
They often met those who in the homes of their youth 
had enjoyed religious privileges; these settlers always 
welcomed the preachers of the gospel. The latter, often 
taking these professing Christians as a nucleus, and when 
the conditions warranted the movement, organized a 
church. Churches being thus established, the mission- 
aries visited them in turn. Some of these churches soon 
became self-supporting, as when under favorable cir- 
cumstances two or three would combine and sustain a 
pastor. The detail in giving an account of the founding 
of individual churches would, alone, require a volume, 
and therefore we give only the salient points, and indeed 
the reader woud find such recollections rather monoto- 



SOCIETIES CHURCH — COLLEGES. 355 

nous, as they are very similar in almost every respect. 

The first Presbyterian church in Indiana was organized 
at Vincennes in 1806, ten years before the Territory be- 
came a State. The first resident minister was Rev. 
Samuel Thornton Scott, who came from Kentucky and 
preached in that church. In the years immediately suc- 
ceeding a number of licentiates and ordained ministers 
were sent to that region by the General Assembly to fill 
missionary appointments of different lengths of time, and 
were assigned to special districts in order to reach 
as many as possible of the people. These ministers trav- 
eled on horseback throughout the Territory, and after- 
ward the State, visiting and preaching in the numerous 
isolated settlements of that time. 

Father Dickey. — Rev. John M. Dickey, of Irish de- 
scent, a native of South Carolina, found his way into Ken- 
tucky and was licensed to preach by the Muhlenberg 
Presbytery. He visited Indiana in 1814 as a missionary; 
after remaining one year and exploring the region as a 
field for Christian effort, he made arrangements to bring 
his family and settle therein permanently. When we 
read of his trials and those of his family, we get a 
glimpse of similar ones endured by other ministers labor- 
ing in the same region. He settled over a church at the 
forks of White river, near where now is the town of 
Washington. The cost of the ferriage over the river for 
his family and furniture was fifty cents more than the 
money in his possession. His salary was fifty dollars a 
year for half his time ; the other half he devoted to volun- 
teer missionary work in destitute places or churches; for 
this labor he scarcely received enough to defray his trav- 
eling expenses. In order to eke out a support for his 
wife and children he often had recourse to manual labor, 
and sometimes he gave instruction in vocal music. His 
district or "Presbyterian diocese" was in area about six- 



356 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

teen miles by ten. He thus labored on with unflagging 
zeal ; once he changed his location to a more destitute dis- 
trict near Lexington, Scott County, and finally became 
pastor of two churches located further south and nearer 
the Ohio river. During the twenty-five or thirty years 
of ministerial labor, he was instrumental in gathering a 
large number of churches which in due time were organ- 
ized. He was the sixth minister to enter that field of 
settlements so heterogeneous in character, and which were 
then almost entirely destitute of gospel privileges. He 
was ever diligent in the work, and in the end it prospered 
to such an extent that within the State he saw presby- 
teries and synods organized to meet the wants of the 
church. His indefatigable labors were crowned with suc- 
cess, and thus encouraged, he labored on till the infirmities 
of age forbid. It was no wonder that the people affec- 
tionately called him "Father Dickey," as he had a claim 
more than any other man to be recognized as the father 
of the Presbyterian Church in Indiana. (G., II., p. 396.) 
The Immigration of Farmers — Mr. Derrow. — In 18 16 
Rev. Nathan B. Derrow, who under a commission from 
the Connecticut Society had been laboring for seven years 
in the Western Reserve, left that field under a missionary 
appointment of the same society to preach in Indiana and 
Illinois, then Territories but soon to become States. He 
found the field inviting because it was quite destitute and 
the people willing to hear the gospel. Great numbers of 
immigrants were pouring in ; these were principally farm- 
ers who desired to secure homes for their families. An 
unusual number of these settlers were illiterate, especially 
in the southern portion, and scarcely a book was to be 
found in their cabins. "In a large number of instances 
extreme indigence was connected with extreme ignorance. 
When tracts were presented by the missionary, he was 
asked to read them by those who declared they could not 



SOCIETIES — CHURCH COLLEGES. 35 7 

read themselves." There also prevailed, to a certain ex- 
tent, a roving and restless disposition on the part of some, 
who, instead of clearing the virgin soil and living per- 
manently on their own cultivated farms, preferred to be 
on the move toward the frontier, as if neighbors were 
an annoyance. As the country became more densely set- 
tled, greater portions of the land were brought under cul- 
tivation, and this roving class either settled down or dis- 
appeared. Mr. Derrow accomplished an immense amount 
of ministerial work by traveling throughout the country 
and preaching. He organized a number of churches and 
was cheered in his labors by an increasing attention on 
the part of the people to hear the gospel. 

The Time of Commission Limited. — The missionaries 
usually had an appointment for half a year, and also to 
each one a district was assigned by the committee of the 
association by which they were commissioned. The Rev. 
Orin Fowler was sent in 1818 by the Connecticut Society 
to labor for six months in Indiana. He was directed to 
visit some ten counties in the middle and eastern portion of 
the State. In relation to this region which he had ex- 
plored, he reported that: "The people were anxious to 
hear the Word preached, " and that urgent requests were 
pressed upon him almost daily to visit and preach to as- 
semblies or congregations, that would hear him gladly. 
The interest manifested was so great that the news of his 
approach was spread far and wide, as is evidenced by the 
people coming ten miles or more to hear a sermon. Dur- 
ing the period of his appointment, Mr. Fowler felt war- 
ranted in organizing only two churches, a number, how- 
ever, had been previously thus established in these coun- 
ties by other missionaries, but in the entire State, at that 
time, not one appears to have been able, alone, to sup- 
port a settled pastor. 

The main portion of the population of this new State 



35 8 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

was in its eastern section, and in the southern part, border- 
ing on the Ohio, and in the fertile valleys of its tributaries, 
that of the Wabash securing the larger share. A limited 
number of immigrants had come into this southern region 
from Ohio, but comparatively few from the Northern 
States. The latter, for climatic reasons, were more in- 
clined to migrate due west. On the parallels of latitude to 
which they were accustomed in their native homes. 

There had been a number of missionaries sent into the 
State, some of whom were commissioned by the General 
Assembly, and others by the Connecticut Missionary So- 
ciety, but only for a limited time, scarcely ever longer 
than six months; the lack of funds had much to do with 
these short-time appointments. In 1820 there were only 
seven Presbyterian ministers in the State, and only two of 
these were settled pastors. Soon ofter this time the popu- 
lation commenced to increase very rapidly. An immense 
immigration of settlers came in and with the intention of 
being permanent residents. These were mostly from the 
Northern and Eastern States. 

The Church at the Capital. — Indianapolis, then a small 
village, had become the capital of the State, and in con- 
sequence the number of its inhabitants began to increase. 
Here, in the summer of 1821, was preached the first ser- 
mon by a Presbyterian minister, and that to a very small 
congregation. The following year, commencing in May, 
the Rev. David C. Proctor-, a missionary sent by the Con- 
necticut Society, preached a few sermons and then left, 
but returned the, following autumn and began his labors 
for a year. In July, 1823, he organized a church of fifteen 
members; after three-fourths of a year's service — the 
other fourth being given to a church at Bloomington 
about seventy miles distant — Mr. Proctor was called to 
another field, and the following year the Rev. George 
Bush commenced to supply the church, which he did for 



SOCIETIES CHURCH — COLLEGES. 359 

several years. Afterward Mr. Bush became professor 
in the University of the City of New York. 

Rev. Isaac Reed, a native of Granville, New York 
State, a graduate of Middleburg College, commenced in 
1818 his work as stated supply for a year at New Albany. 
The church numbered thirteen members, but within a year 
the number increased to thirty-five, and a Sabbath-school 
— the first in the State — was organized and soon had sixty 
scholars in attendance. The population was nearly 
eight hundred. A great moral change was brought 
about through the influence of the gospel. The Sabbath 
was previously desecrated, being a sort of half holiday, 
the stores for the most part were kept open, but now they 
were closed. Mr. Reed appears to have been commis- 
sioned by the Connecticut Society, but for some reason it 
did not give pecuniary aid to the church in New Albany, 
and the latter, not being able to support a pastor, Mr. 
Reed, for that reason, removed to Kentucky. Three 
years afterward he returned and had partial charge of 
the Presbyterian church at Indianapolis, and later (1824) 
became pastor of Bethany Church in Owen County. The 
latter was a new enterprise, and Mr. Reed with his own 
hands prepared the logs for his parsonage; he states that 
winter was coming on, and his neighbors were too busy 
with their own preparations to aid him except in raising 
or putting the logs in place, which he was unable to do 
with his own strength. Thus was put up the rude log- 
cabin, one story high, and the openings between the logs 
above the joint-plates where the roof rested were unfilled 
with clay or plastering, when the family moved in to 
enjoy Christmas in their new home. This rude hut the 
devoted missionary in his letters styled "the Cottage of 
peace." Mr. Reed has done the church a service by giving 
a graphic account of the trials of these missionaries, their 
wives, and their families, and also a general sketch of 



360 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the country and the churches, in a book, entitled "The 
Christian Traveler." 

Notwithstanding his self-denying labors Mr. Reed was 
forced within a few years to give up the "Cottage of 
peace," and seek another settlement because of a lack of 
support, as he had not received one dollar in money for 
two years. We cannot adequately realize what must 
have been the trials, even the sufferings of the self-deny- 
ing wives and families, of those devoted servants of the 
cause of Christ. 

Number of Churches and Ministers. — The population 
of the State of Indiana was estimated in 1825 at 200,000. 
The number of Presbyterian and Congregational 
churches was only forty-three, while the number of their 
ministers was ten; one-half of whom were settled pastors, 
the other were missionaries under appointment from the 
societies. One of the hindrances to the spread of the gos- 
pel was the baleful influence of New Lights and Dunk- 
ards, which prevailed in neighborhoods wherein the 
people were grossly ignorant. When the gospel and edu- 
cation came hand in hand these errorists began to disap- 
pear and are now virtually extinct, though in the days of 
which we speak they were a power for evil. 

The destitution continued very great, and yet under 
the circumstances much progress had been made, as was 
manifested in the better moral tone in general society. 
Immigrants were still crowding in, many of whom were 
careless in respect to religion. Sabbath-breaking pre- 
vailed to a certain extent, while profanity seemed to be 
everywhere, and intemperance, the handmaid of many 
vices, was almost unblushing, and gambling was com- 
mon. 

From 1825 onward to 1837 there is nothing special to 
note, but the cheering fact that the churches grew in 
number and prospered. Missionaries continued to fill 



SOCIETIES CHURCH — COLLEGES. 361 

their appointments in many settlements, and individual 
churches were organized and became self-supporting and 
local centers of influence. Thus was laid wide and deep 
the foundation of the Presbyterian Church in the State of 
Indiana, as we now see it, in its educational and religious 
institutions. 

The Presbyterian Church in Indiana had in 1837 sixty- 
nine ministers and one hundred and twenty-two churches, 
while the church membership was nearly five thousand. 
It must be confessed that numbers of individual churches 
were feeble and were not self-supporting. Many of the 
sixty-nine ministers were missionaries and traveled in 
their allotted districts, and served, as they were able, the 
churches as stated supplies, while others became pastors 
in the growing towns and the more densely populated 
portions of the agricultural districts. 

Missionaries in Illinois. — The first recognition of Illi- 
nois as a separate field for missionary labor was, in 1816, 
two years before the Territory became a State. Hitherto 
the Societies had connected it in their operations with 
Indiana, which took the lead at first in population. With 
Presbyterians and Congregationalists, education in all 
its bearings went hand in hand with home missions. 
Thus the Rev. J. M. Ellis, a Presbyterian missionary, 
realized the importance of founding a college in the new 
State of Illinois to meet the wants of the rising genera- 
tion, whose parents were coming in and forming set- 
tlements. When he had been a missionary for two years 
he began to enlist the sympathy of his fellow members 
of the Presbytery Center of Illinois, to aid him in the 
undertaking. The latter body deputed Mr. Ellis in 1828 
to visit the East and lay his plan before the benevolent. 
The design was to move cautiously, and first to establish 
an academy, which might eventually become a college. 
Mr. Ellis visited New Haven and also the City of New 
25 



362 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

York; in the latter, the Presbyterians and the Dutch Re- 
formed sympathized with the object and responded quite 
liberally. With the funds thus obtained, buildings were 
erected and the following year the institution, in that re- 
spect, was ready for pupils. 

Illinois College. — How remarkable are the providential 
ways in which benevolent purposes are carried out! At 
this very time seven young men — Yale theological stu- 
dents — had been impressed with the idea that it would 
be a sphere of great future usefulness to go as mission- 
aries to Illinois, and in time found in that growing State 
a college that should become a center of good influence. 
Rumor was continually telling of its beautiful prairies 
and exceedingly fertile soil, all ready for the plow of the 
husbandman and for prosperous settlements. To avail 
themselves of these natural treasures, as well as a fine 
climate, an immense migration of desirable people was 
crowding in to become citizens of this garden of the 
West. 

The names of these young men were Mason Grosvenor, 
John F. Brooks, Elisha Jenney, William Kirby, Asa 
Turner, J. M. Sturtevant, and Theron Baldwin. They 
pledged themselves to God and to one another, and in ac- 
cordance with that pledge they all, on the completion of 
their theological course, migrated to the State — except 
Grosvenor, whose poor health forbid his going — and 
became missionaries and settled in different places, but 
within reach of one another. They had inquired by letter, 
and thus became familiar with the plans of Mr. Ellis, and 
exerted their influence in favor of the college. Three 
other ministers were on the ground, and with them, six 
of these young men were named trustees in the charter, 
which established Illinois College at Jacksonville, in that 
State. 

In this connection it is proper to note the founding 



SOCIETIES — CHURCH — COLLEGES. 363 

of another institution of learning in the State. Dr. 
Gideon Blackburn, after his resignation of the presidency 
of Center College in Kentucky, removed in 1833 to 
Illinois, on the invitation of some gentlemen interested 
in the cause of education. He here directed his energies 
to establish a theological seminary. The outcome was 
the founding of Blackburn University at Carlinsville, Illi- 
nois. By its charter it offers a regular college course of 
instruction, and also one in theology. After five years of 
labor in the enterprise, death in 1838 ended the useful and 
active life of Gideon Blackburn, in his sixty-sixth year. 
He left as a legacy to the church two sons — successful 
ministers. 



XXXVIII. 

The Relation of Churches to Certain Presbyteries. 

The reason has already been given {See p. 222) why 
the settlements in Northern Kentucky, bordering on the 
Ohio river, were formed so rapidly. Meanwhile, because 
of the easy accessibility by the same river settlements 
were as rapidly established on its north shore and up the 
valleys of its tributaries. Thus the southern portions of 
the now States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois were first 
occupied by enterprising immigrants who floated in flat- 
boats down the river from Western Pennsylvania and 
Eastern Ohio. These pioneers occupied in time promi- 
nent points from Marietta down to and beyond Cincin- 
nati. The Presbyterian ministers, who were among the 
first to visit these settlements, came across the river from 
Kentucky. And when churches were organized and 
needed the care of a presbytery, it was more convenient 
because more accessible, for these churches to be con- 
nected with the Presbyteries and the Synod of Kentucky, 
than with those in Western Pennsylvania or Northern 
Ohio. We find that this rule prevailed until the number 
of churches and the increase of population warranted the 
formation of presbyteries and synods on the north side of 
the river. 

In those early days of Christian work there was much 
inconvenience incident to the proper supervision of the 
churches by the presbyteries. For illustration, the Pres- 
bytery of Center Illinois was in connection with the 
Synod of Kentucky, and the Presbytery of Missouri, 



RELATION OF CHURCHES TO CERTAIN PRESBYTERIES. 365 

which had a number of churches under its care in Illinois, 
was itself connected with the Synod of Tennessee. The 
bounds of the Presbytery of Washington, which was 
erected in 1799, out of that of Transylvania, Kentucky, 
was divided by the Ohio river, and on its north side in- 
cluded the churches of the territory, taking the town of 
Cincinnati as a center. The Synod of Kentucky was 
formed in 1802; the churches in that region had been, 
hitherto, under the care of the Synod of Virginia. Of 
the churches of Illinois, some were connected with the 
Presbyteries of Transylvania and Muhlenburg, in Ken- 
tucky, while others were under supervision of the Pres- 
bytery of Missouri. These various arrangements had no 
influence upon the missionary societies : the Presbyterian 
Board, the Connecticut Society, the Home Missionary 
and Young Men's Missionary Society of New York, 
and minor associations. These all sent their missionaries 
to fill appointments for Christian work in these new set- 
tlements, wherever needed; to preach and establish 
churches, and, if opportunity served, to become settled 
pastors, stated supplies, resident missionaries, or evan- 
gelists. The missionaries themselves acted in harmony 
with the societies and with one another; sometimes they 
were permitted to exercise their own judgment, and if 
one found a field occupied he would go to a more desti- 
tute district. They utilized every facility to carry the 
gospel to all the settlements, and thus the work went on, 
meanwhile the population was increasing by immigration, 
and the people were becoming more stable in their habits, 
cultivated farms increased rapidly, and towns were fast 
coming into existence. 

The Presbytery of Salem, in the State of Indiana, was 
erected in 1823. It consisted of nine members, and had 
under its care most of the churches of the State. The 
number of the latter continued to increase, but they were 



366 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

so much scattered that in 1825, in order to secure for 
them closer supervision, the Presbytery of Salem was 
divided, and from the original two presbyteries were set 
off — Wabash and Madison — and on the same line, the 
following year the Synod of Indiana was organized. 
Afterward with the latter synod was connected the Pres- 
bytery of Center Illinois (1828). The boundaries of 
these presbyteries and synods were arranged as a matter 
of convenience, and not in respect to the State or terri- 
torial lines. The Presbytery of Missouri, which was 
erected in 18 18, had, seven years later, nearly one-half 
the churches under its care across the Mississippi in the 
State of Illinois, while it was itself connected with the 
Synod of Tennessee. Five years later the churches in 
Illinois belonging to the Presbytery of Missouri were 
set off to another within the State. These changes were 
continually going on in consequence of the increase of 
population and the corresponding increase of churches. 
Why the Interest in Missouri? — The new State of Mis- 
souri elicited an unusual interest in missionary opera- 
tions. This was owing to its location, it being then the 
most important territory west of the Mississippi occu- 
pied by American citizens. St. Louis had been for years 
the starting point and the fitting-out place of the com- 
panies of French and other fur traders, who went across 
the plains to the Rocky Mountains and to the North- 
west, now known as the States of Oregon and Washing- 
ton. An effort was made by Rev. Dr. E. S. Ely (noted 
elsewhere, see p. 254) to found a college in 1834 in the 
village of Marion, the intention being to meet the ex- 
pected wants of the youth of the American immigrants 
who were so rapidly occupying this much-lauded region. 
After the labors of years by a number of eminent men, 
and, as it seems, injudicious expenditure of large funds, 
the enterprise was abandoned. The settlers were mostly 



RELATION OF CHURCHES TO CERTAIN PRESBYTERIES. 367 

from the slave-labor States, and brought with them their 
slaves. For obvious reasons these people took very little 
interest in an advanced education, which they were really 
unable to appreciate, and in addition the financial troubles 
of 1837 gave the finishing touch to the ruin. The fertile 
soil and fins climate, and the advantage of being adjacent 
to navigable rivers and in a central position, was unable 
to cope with the negative influence of the lack of general 
intelligence at that time prevailing among the early in- 
habitants of Missouri. 

Religious Character of St. Louis. — The town of St. 
Louis, originally settled by the French, was the largest 
in the territory and a center of traffic, but a very diffi- 
cult missionary field to cultivate. Here were great num- 
bers of French people, who were Catholics and hostile 
to the Protestants, or indifferent to any religion, what- 
ever. In addition, the boatmen up and down the rivers, 
when on shore, often spent their time in gambling and 
drinking, while the streets were in a continual turmoil 
of traders to the Indians, who were absorbed in disposing 
of their furs or fitting themselves out for new expeditions. 
The Sabbath day was almost unknown, and yet in St. 
Louis were a few Christians who had come from the 
older States, and longed for the gospel privileges of their 
native homes. Protestant ministers were rarely seen and 
seldom heard preach; an itinerant Methodist minister 
had preached in the town perhaps once a month — this was 
in 1816. As far as reported by Mr. Giddings and other 
missionaries, there were at that time only three Presby- 
terians in the town. The general morals of the territory 
may be inferred from the fact that the Sabbath was dese- 
crated everywhere, and given up to idleness and pleasure, 
one form of the latter was horse-racing, a custom im- 
ported from Virginia and Kentucky. One illustration 
may suffice: The Rev. Mr. Flint on one occasion was 



368 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

announced to preach on a certain Sunday at the town of 
St. Charles. When he arrived at the building in which 
he was to officiate he noticed that a great crowd was 
collected. A horse-race was to come off, and as he was 
about to commence the services, he heard the signal 
given for the horses to start. 

Samuel J. Mills's Tour. — The Rev. Samuel J. Mills and 
the Rev. John F. Schmerhorn, graduates of Williams Col- 
lege, were commissioned by the Massachusetts Mis- 
sionary Society, and others, to make an exploring tour 
on the frontiers through the West and Southeast, in 
order to acquire accurate knowledge in respect to the 
moral and religious wants of the people of that entire re- 
gion. They set out on their journey in the autumn of 
1 812, and spent about a year in traveling from point to 
point, preaching by the way, and when it seemed expe- 
dient, tarrying long enough to make proper investiga- 
tions. In this manner they passed through a portion 
of the State of Ohio; visited many settlements in the 
Territories of Indiana and Illinois, and the towns along 
down the Mississippi to New Orleans, where they spent 
some time, and on their way back they visited the Terri- 
tory of Missouri at its principal town, St. Louis. (G. II., 

P- 4*3-) 

They made an elaborate report on the religious and 
moral condition of the people, and also on the destitution 
that prevailed in the entire region in respect to preachers 
of the gospel. This report was published and widely cir- 
culated, and it aroused an unusual interest in the Eastern 
churches, which was manifested in an increased number 
of missionaries that the societies representing these 
churches sent out. The authors of the report having 
been on the ground, and after thorough investigation 
were able to suggest judicious measures to meet the 
religious wants of the people. They urged the policy, 



RELATION OF CHURCHES TO CERTAIN PRESBYTERIES. 369 

adopted by the Presbyterians, of occupying important 
points, and there establishing churches and sustaining 
them till they become self-supporting and centers of 
local influence. This plan was in contrast with the in- 
judicious custom, that sometimes prevailed, of organizing 
churches with a mere handful of members, and afterward, 
because of the lack of men and means, leaving them to 
dwindle away and perhaps pass out of existence. 

This report commanded the confidence of the religious 
community. Previous to this time, by his persevering 
efforts in urging privately upon prominent clergymen 
and others his views of the churches having a practical 
missionary spirit, Mr. Mills, more than any other man, 
had promoted the formation of the American Board of 
Foreign Missions, in 1810. (Four Hundred Years, etc., 
page 636.) 

Rev. Salmon Giddings. — To no one does Missouri owe 
more as a missionary than to Rev. Salmon Giddings. He 
was an intimate friend of Samuel J. Mills, and after the 
latter' s return from his tour of observation he learned 
from him of the peculiarities of the country and of the re- 
ligious wants of its people. Giddings was then a tutor 
in Williams College, and had recently been licensed to 
preach. Being deeply impressed with the importance of 
the subject he determined to make the West his future 
home and field of missionary work and St. Louis the 
scene of his labors. The Connecticut Society, having 
learned of his purpose, sent him a commission to labor 
in the "Western country." In December, 1815, he com- 
menced his long journey on horseback, advancing slowly 
across the State of Ohio and the Territories of Indiana 
and Illinois. On the way, he preached on the Sabbath 
and often, when opportunity served, on week days. It 
was not till April 6, 1816, that he reached St. Louis. 
During the three previous years the country had been 



37© A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

much agitated by the War of 1812, which interfered very 
sadly with home missionary work, as well as with the 
general piety of the people. But now the war being 
ended, an unusual impulse was given to business, espe- 
cially in the line of migrations to the West, and therein 
on its rivers. 

St. Louis, as already noted (/>. 3<5/), had all the ele- 
ments of a hard place for an evangelist to begin his 
labors. Giddings was peculiarly adapted for his work, 
being blessed with a Christian and kindly disposition, 
scholarship, and common sense, and withal self-reliance; 
he was able to adapt himself to surrounding circum- 
stances. He was under the necessity of walking through 
the town from house to house to obtain a lodging-place 
and board. He happened to pick up a little St. Louis 
newspaper, in which was an article headed "Caution;" 
the people were warned against himself. They were told 
that a missionary society in New England was about to 
send out preachers to the West, but that it was done for 
a political purpose, and, moreover, the project had its 
origin in the Hartford Convention! The latter was a 
favorite bugbear at the time, and used on almost every 
occasion on the stump or in the newspapers by a certain 
class of demagogues. The motive of the latter was, no 
doubt, to prejudice the Southern people against those 
of New England. 

Mr. Giddings spent the first year in visiting a number 
of settlements and preaching in the Territory. He sought 
out the Presbyterians and organized a church in the 
Belleview settlement some eighty miles southwest of 
St. Louis (August 16, 1816). This was said to be the 
first Presbyterian church organized in the Territory. 
There is a special interest attached to this church, inas- 
much as in 1807 there migrated to Missouri from the 
same church in North Carolina four Presbyterian elders 




Rev. Lyman Beecher, D. D. 

(244, 268, 321, 395, 408-413, 415.) 



RELATION OF CHURCHES TO CERTAIN PRESBYTERIES. 37 I 

and their families, who found homes at this place. 
Though they had no preaching, they were careful to keep 
up a weekly prayer-meeting and to meet together on 
the Sabbath and read sermons. After some time the set- 
tlement was visited by a Methodist circuit rider, and they 
worshiped with them until Mr. Giddings came, when he 
organized a church consisting of thirty members. 

Rev. Timothy Flint. — The same year (1816) came the 
Rev. Timothy Flint, commissioned by the Connecticut 
Society. He traveled much as an itinerant, directing his 
attention to the settlements up the Missouri river. He 
wrote a graphic description of the country as to its 
fertile soil and salubrious climate, and also described the 
Territory as a most important field for missionary labor. 
Immigrants in great numbers were coming in and settling 
on farms or moving on further West. For a time, the 
crowd was so great that, as Flint states, as many as one 
hundred immigrants passed daily through St. Charles. 
He reported that not one family in fifty had a Bible. 

Reasons for the Migration. — In order to understand the 
reasons for this movement the reader will notice as one 
of them, the material condition of the country at that 
period. The War of 1812 had recently closed. It had 
had a most depressing effect upon religion as well as on 
the business prosperity of the older portion of the Union. 
In the seaboard States, ocean commerce, especially the 
carrying trade was destroyed ; mechanical industries were 
ruined by the influx of foreign — especially Engjish — 
manufactured articles, purposely put in even at cost; 
workmen were thrown out of employment, and in conse- 
quence thousands upon thousands who happened to 
have the means, sought to better the condition of them- 
selves and families by migrating to the fertile valleys 
and prairies of the West. This movement continued for 
a number of years, since it took a long time for business 



372 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

in its various forms to recover in the older States from 
the unwonted depression into which it had been plunged 
by the embargo and similar measures. The result was, 
these new and fertile regions were occupied by energetic 
settlers who were not afraid to labor, and that influence 
passed over into succeeding generations, SO' that pro- 
verbially, the people of the West became and continued to 
be industrious and competent in business matters, and in 
due time promptly did their full share in sustaining the 
Union in its time of trial, as well as the ordinances of the 
church and the cause of education. 

The Presbyterians of Missouri, as well as its early 
settlers, owe a debt of gratitude to the energetic and self- 
denying missionary labors of Giddings and Flint. They 
journeyed far and wide, and preached by the way, en- 
couraging numbers who in their old homes had been 
professing Christians, but in their new ones had become 
indifferent to form themselves into congregations, and 
afterward, when circumstances permitted, into organized 
churches and then to sustain them by their own per- 
sonal efforts. Meantime every effort was made to secure 
for these churches ministers either as stated supplies or 
evangelists. 

Mr. Giddings, to eke out his very limited salary, estab- 
lished a school in St. Louis, but continued to preach, and 
managed for a portion of the year to make preaching 
tours throughout that region and sometimes across the 
river in Illinois. When teaching he gave special at- 
tention to a feeble congregation, which he finally organ- 
ized as a church (November 23, 1817). Such were the 
beginnings of the First Presbyterian Church in St. Louis. 
It had only nine members, and it was eight years before 
they were able to build for themselves a suitable home. 
Mr. Giddings became its pastor and served it faithfully for 
eleven years, till his death. In that relation he was sue- 



RELATION OF CHURCHES TO CERTAIN PRESBYTERIES. 373 

ceeded by Rev. (Dr.) William S. Potts (1829), who did 
a grand work as its pastor. During the years of his pas- 
torate Mr. Giddings was ever diligent in the labor, when 
the occasion required, of itinerating, and devoting his 
energies as much as possible to every work that would 
have good influence upon the public welfare. He was 
specially interested in the French Catholic population, dis- 
tributing among them Bibles and Testaments in that 
language, and in addition, manifesting toward them his 
good will by many acts of kindness. 

JMr. Flint, who had previously been a missionary in 
Indiana, was during this period very active in his labors, 
the scene of which was up on the Missouri river at St. 
Charles and vicinity. He visited and often preached in 
the neighboring towns, traveling much during the year, 
and as he could not afford a horse oftentimes on foot. 
He also, sometimes, visited the more distant new set- 
tlements on both sides of the river, and on one of his 
missionary excursions, lasting seven weeks, he crossed 
the Missouri sixteen times. Mr. Flint, in his journal, 
when speaking of the scenes and people, says : "Many 
of them live and die without any thought of eternity. 
So engaged are they in making new settlements in the 
woods that they seem to regard nothing besides." Yet 
he was often cheered by being most cordially received 
by those with whom he had previously conversed and 
given Bibles, and who listened joyously to his sermons. 
Mr. Flint, after remaining ten years in the West as a 
Missionary, returned to the East, and wrote with great 
success on the characteristics of the scenery of the Great 
valley and of its then inhabitants. 

A Number of Missionaries — John Matthews — From 
time to time other missionaries were coming into the 
Territory, who were usually commissioned for six months, 
some of whom remained and settled permanently over 



374 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

churches. Rev. Thomas Donnell, from North Carolina, 
was one who was eminent as a Christian and for his use- 
fulness. Rev. Charles S. Robinson, from Mississippi, was 
sent by the New York Young Men's Evangelical So- 
ciety (1816). Rev. William McFarland was sent in 1817 
by the General Assembly to St. Louis for six months, 
and to visit destitute places in the Territory. The Gen- 
eral Assembly commissioned Rev. Jeremiah Chamber- 
lain in 1819 for six months to the Territory of Missouri. 
Rev. Francis McFarland was commissioned in 1820 to 
visit the region up the Missouri river. 

The Connecticut Society commissioned Rev. John 
Matthews to itinerate six months in Missouri in 1819. 
Matthews was a native of Beaver County, Pennsylvania; 
of Scotch-Irish descent, a graduate of Jefferson Col- 
lege, and studied theology under Dr. John McMillan. 
After being a pastor for several years within the bounds 
of Erie Presbytery he felt it his duty to become a mis- 
sionary to the destitute portions of the Western territo- 
ries. After receiving his appointment from the Connecticut 
Society he went down the Ohio on a flatboat, landing 
at Louisville. Then traveling on horseback and preach- 
ing by the way, he passed through Indinna and Illinois, 
and finally joined Mr. Giddings in St. Louis, and im- 
mediately entered upon his work. Passing up the Mis- 
souri to the vicinity of St. Charles, he took charge of a 
church in Pike County; here he remained seven years, a 
portion of which time he engaged in teaching to aid in his 
support. Afterward he took charge of a church in South- 
eastern Missouri, and two or three years later we find 
him a pastor of a church in Kaskaskia, Illinois. 
Matthews, though indefatigable in his ministerial labors, 
managed to become a well-read student, and found time 
in the course of years to write out a system of theology. 

These ministers continued to visit the various settle- 



RELATION OF CHURCHES TO CERTAIN PRESBYTERIES. 375 

ments and gave special attention to the churches recently 
organized. The destitute portions of the Territory made 
urgent calls for more preachers, while those in the field 
were incessant in their efforts to answer these calls. 

Missions in Michigan. — The territory now known as 
Michigan was previously visited by the French, who in 
1 610 established a trading-post on the strait — Detroit. 
After the Treaty of Paris, 1763, it passed into the hands 
of England, and all the French forts on the lakes were 
occupied by English garrisons. After the American 
Revolution, when a boundary was arranged between 
Canada and the United States, the line was drawn through 
the middle of the Lakes and their connecting streams, 
and thus the Territory of Michigan became the property 
of the latter. 

The first settlers at Detroit and in the vicinity were 
French, who in 1749 were sent out at the expense of that 
government to form a settlement. At the close of the 
Revolution "The French at Detroit were numerous; they 
tilled their farms as well as engaged in the traffic of furs." 
This trade was carried on from Detroit as a center along 
the shores of the upper lakes. 

In 1805 the United States Government organized the 
Territory of Michigan, but four years previous mission- 
aries had visited Detroit, though more especially to the 
Indians (p. 296). The town had the reputation of being 
"a most abandoned place;" it was stated that only one 
person in it — a colored man — appeared to be pious. Two 
other missionaries, a Methodist and a Congregationalist, 
made similar efforts, but both were unsuccessful. About 
this time (1804) a destructive fire burned ever house in 
the place except one. 

The Trials of the Early Settlers of Michigan. — De- 
troit being on the line between Canada and the United 
States, was, if possible, still more demoralized than ever 



376 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

by the War of 1812, and not till after its close was spe- 
cial effort made by the General Assembly to send mis- 
sionaries thither. The population consisted largely of the 
resident garrison; in addition were white traders and 
Indians of different tribes, and the descendants of the 
original French; the latter were Catholics. The char- 
acter of the people in 1816 is thus summed up: "The 
profaneness of the soldiers exceeds anything I ever im- 
agined" — by the way, the garrison had no chaplain; 
. . . "there is no Sabbath in this country." Such are 
the words of Rev. John Monteith, who in 1817 was sent to 
Detroit and vicinity, by the assembly's board, for one year, 
but his commission was renewed from year to year. 
Though ignorance and wickedness prevailed to a fright- 
ful extent, there were a few who welcomed him most 
cordially; he labored on faithfully, and commanded the 
respect of all classes by his self-denying zeal in the cause 
of pure religion. He said he was lonely, as the nearest 
Presbyterian brother was two hundred miles distant. 
He took one month in the year as a vacation, when he 
went on missionary tours to the surrounding region. 
Thus he occasionally visited the settlements on the river 
Raisin, and as far on the lake shore as Sandusky and 
Cleveland. The Methodists had also preaching from 
itinerant ministers, and they manifested in the community 
their usual Christian zeal. 

Labors of Rev. Monteith. — Mr. Monteith made a re- 
port of his preaching tours, and the assembly in 1818 
commissioned a missionary for six months to the set- 
tlements on the Raisin, and this was for a year or two 
following. 

Mackinaw, on the straits of the same name, from its 
position, was an important center for missionary work, 
since through these straits there was every prospect that 
in time an immense coasting trade would pass. This 



RELATION OF CHURCHES TO CERTAIN PRESBYTERIES. 377 

trading-post was in 1820 visited by Rev. Jedediah Morse, 
who preached to the people for a season. The moral 
character of the town may be inferred from the state- 
ment that "the Christian Sabbath had not got so far." 
Two years later the Rev. W. M. Ferry came under a 
commission of the United Foreign Missionary Society. 
Though at first he could not find much encouragement, 
he labored on for ten years, and had his reward in see- 
ing the moral character of the place quite changed for the 
better. 

Mission at St Mary's Straits. — The Western Mis- 
sionary Society of the Synod of Pittsburg established 
a mission at the straits of St. Mary. At this location 
were a number of English-speaking families, as well as 
French, the latter nominally Catholic, besides numbers 
of Indians of different tribes, who still resorted to these 
waters in order to obtain supplies of fish. This was an 
important missionary station, as the trade of the upper 
lakes, which evidently would have a great future, must 
pass through these straits, and it was hoped it would be- 
come a center of Christian influence and effort. The 
United States Government had established here a mili- 
tary post, and here at that time resided its Indian agent, 
Mr. Henry R. Schoolcraft. 

The special missionary, Rev. Robert M. Laird, was 
earnest in the performance of his duties, and he was 
blessed in his labors among the soldiers and residents, 
numbers of whom attended his special services for those 
inquiring on the subject of religion, as he reported to the 
General Assembly in 1824. He made it a point to dis- 
tribute Bibles and religious books to the scholars in the 
Sunday-schools, and also to adults. 

The General Assembly continued from year to year to 
make appointments for the entire region around the 
shores of the lakes, and the adjoining settlements in the 
26 



378 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

interior of the Territory of Michigan, till it became a 
State in 1837. An immense population kept pouring in 
from the Eastern States for a number of years, and the 
calls for preachers of the gospel were incessant. The 
Presbytery of Detroit was formed in 1827, and put in 
connection with Western Reserve Synod. Meanwhile 
the number of people and churches continued to increase, 
so that it became necessary, as a matter of convenience, 
to divide the Presbytery of Detroit, and two others were 
set off from it, that of St. Joseph's and Monroe. These 
three presbyteries numbered thirty-two ministers, and the 
churches fifty-nine, and in 1835 the Synod of Michigan 
was organized. 

The Reports — Views of Missionaries. — It is unfortu- 
nate for the historian and for the reader that so few of 
these pioneer ministers — not more than three or four, it 
seems — took notes or wrote specially of the varied con- 
ditions of the people living in these new communities. 
To be sure, they sent regularly their reports to the re- 
spective societies under whose commissions they labored. 
These reports were condensed as ordinary business docu- 
ments. These devoted men had an instinctive delicacy 
which prevented their making complaints to the commit- 
tee of the society. It is only now and then we get hints 
derived from their private letters, of their trials, and 
those of their devoted wives, who underwent with them 
the dangers and the hardships incident to such frontier 
life. When the timid statement is made of the lack of 
support, it always means deprivation for the family of 
the necessaries of life — of luxuries they had none. The 
great services of these wives and mothers have been al- 
most literally ignored; if we only had a record of them 
we could obtain a clearer view of the inner life of the peo- 
ple among whom they and their husbands labored. How 
often would the journal of the wife of a missionary 



RELATION OF CHURCHES TO CERTAIN PRESBYTERIES. 379 

throw light upon the characteristics of these frontier 
communities? In every instance when the missionary 
presented himself, the women of the frontier settlements 
were always the first to give him a hearty welcome, with 
tears of joy and a burst of gratitude for bringing them 
the gospel which they loved to hear in their native homes, 
and now, for obvious reasons, more lovingly cherished 
than ever. May we not hope that a better day is dawn- 
ing, when the fruitful labors of the wives of home mis- 
sionaries will be more appreciated and become a sub- 
ject of record, and thus stimulate their sisters to greater 
exertions in the cause? 



XXXIX. 

The Change of Policy. 

We are now approaching an important era in the his- 
tory of the Presbyterian Church — no less than its division. 
This act led to a complete change of its policy in mis- 
sionary operations; namely, from the union with other 
denominations in voluntary societies, to a separate and 
individual action on the part of the church. This was 
in accordance with the theory, which had been suggested 
some time before, that the Presbyterian Church, as a 
denomination, should be ex officio a missionary associa- 
tion. The reader will note that the several denomina- 
tions in the Union at this time — 1900 — conduct their 
missionary operations, foreign and home, in their indi- 
vidual or organic capacity. The only voluntary benevo- 
lent associations at this day are the American Bible 
Society, Sunday-School Union, and American Tract So- 
ciety. Within the last half-century all the evangelical 
denominations have each advanced so much in the num- 
ber of adherents and in material prosperity that they 
can in a separate capacity do more effective work in ex- 
tending the influence of the gospel than by cooperating 
with voluntary associations. This separate action brings 
home more vividly to their respective church members 
each one's individual responsibility in the matter than 
under the voluntary or combination system. The Ameri- 
can Board was originally a voluntary association, and 
because of its having been admirably conducted finan- 
cially, as well as judiciously in its general management, 



THE CHANGE OF POLICY. 38 1 

it commanded the confidence of the entire religious pub- 
lic. It has now, however, become virtually denomina- 
tional, since it is the agent of the Congregational Church 
alone. What a grand career it has had for nearly ninety 
years! The voluntary system is better adapted to the 
Congregational Church polity than to any other denomi- 
nation. Since its polity enjoins "the equality of all be- 
lievers, including the officers of the church; the equality 
of the several churches, free from the jurisdiction of 
ecclesiastical court or bishop, free from the jurisdiction 
of one church over another, free from the collective 
authority of them all." (Bancroft's U. S. Hist., pp. 238, 
239. Last revision.) 

The Progress of the Church. — In the progress of the 
Presbyterian Church from 1830 to 1837, the average an- 
nual number of persons admitted to it on examination in 
the first four years of that period was 23,340, and of 
the last three the average was only 14,463. During 
these latter three years there was much agitation in the 
church, because of ecclesiastical trials of clergymen and 
other controversies, which resulted finally in 1838 in its 
division; this may account, in part, for the falling off 
of conversions from the world. In 1837 the number of 
synods was twenty-three; presbyteries, one hundred and 
th)irty-nve; ministers, two thousand one hundred and 
forty; churches, two thousand eight hundred and sixty- 
five, and of church members, two hundred and twenty 
thousand, five hundred and fifty-seven. 

The Awakened Interest. — The sentiment had been in- 
creasing in the minds of men of comprehensive views 
that the church in its organized capacity should be vir- 
tually a missionary society. It was agreed that such 
a stand taken on the subject would develop a greater 
missionary spirit among the church members. The dis- 
cussion and diffusion of knowledge on the subject awak- 



382 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ened an interest never before known. The great diffi- 
culty in the way of realizing these expectations was that 
the American Board was doing a grand work; and why 
not let well alone, rather than break off and try experi- 
ments on a separate line? On the same ground the 
Home Missionary Society was a voluntary association, 
but was doing a good work. In consequence of this suc- 
cess Presbyterians, for the greater parr, gave their con- 
tributions to these voluntary societies, and that habit 
crippled those belonging to the church proper. It is 
probable that a much longer time would have elapsed 
before the majority of the Presbyterian ministry and in- 
telligent laymen could have become willing to withdraw 
from that system and adopt the denominational, had not 
other causes intervened. 

The Changes in Thirty Years. — The plan of union 
had been the means of accomplishing a grand work since 
it was first established. The two denominations, the 
Presbyterian and Congregational, in their missionary 
labor, often overlapped one another in occupying the 
same ground, and thus they came in friendly competition. 
The plan of union was therefore adopted in order to util- 
ize more effectively the power of both parties. {See pp. 
238-240.) But in the course of more than a third of a 
century the conditions had very much changed. Both 
denominations had increased in the number of their 
church members; while the field for their missionary 
operations had increased in a still greater proportion. 
The Congregationalists had extended on parallel lines 
of latitude across Northern and Western New York, and, 
passing over Pennsylvania into Ohio, occupied mainly the 
region known as the Western Reserve. The Presbyteri- 
ans continued to hold their own in the South, along the 
Atlantic slope. In early days they crossed the Alle- 
ghanies and took possession of Western Pennsylvania, 



THE CHANGE OF POLICY. 383 

then extended their lines into the Territories, afterward 
the States lying between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers ; 
meanwhile their missionaries from the South Atlantic 
slope, on similar lines of latitude, were penetrating the 
Territories, afterward States, bordering on the north 
shore of the gulf, and also on the north of the latter were 
occupying Kentucky and Tennessee. The Presbyterians 
of Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio were at the 
same time passing down the rivers Ohio and Mississippi, 
taking in only the towns on the north shore of the former 
but on both shores of the latter to New Orleans. On the 
west side missionaries were sent to the Territories of 
Arkansas and Missouri. From these fields of early min- 
isterial labor the Presbyterian Church never receded, 
but continued to advance toward greater efficiency in pro- 
claiming the gospel. 

Missionary Territorial Areas Compared. — With the 
exception of a limited number of isolated churches in dif- 
ferent localities, and those in the Western Reserve, there 
were scarcely any organized Congregational churches 
west of the Alleghanies. The home of the great influence 
of that body of Christians was in New England; but 
how nobly they labored to promote the cause of Christ 
within the Union, especially in the great West! The 
immense territory just described was, in an ecclesiastical 
sense, occupied for the most part by the Presbyterians. 
To aid in evangelizing the people therein, they invited 
and cordially welcomed great numbers of ministers, who 
were sent and supported by the missionary societies of 
Massachusetts and Connecticut. The ministers and mis- 
sionaries, Congregational and Presbyterian, agreed in the 
essential doctrines of the gospel, and on this basis they 
fraternized. As to the form of church government, 
though each party had its predilections, it was deemed 
by both non-essential or a matter of expediency, and in 



384 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

consequence changes were often made by ministers from 
one denomination to the other. The result was that in 
the West the missionaries from New England fell in with 
the Presbyterial polity and connected themselves, when 
occasion required, with their presbyteries and synods. 

The area of these new territories occupied by the Pres- 
byterians was comparatively so much greater than that 
of New England that it required a proportionally 
greater number of ministers to meet the religious wants 
of the population, which, in addition to the rapid and 
natural increase, was augmented by thousands and thou- 
sands migrating thither from the old States. Still more, 
in after years, hosts of immigrants were almost daily 
coming in from Germany and Ireland. Some of those 
from the former were evangelical Lutherans, while 
others, indeed the much more numerous class, were in- 
different to religious subjects, especially those who were 
rationalistic in their views. The latter had scarcely any 
respect for the Sabbath as a day of sacred rest, they 
being accustomed to the "Continental Sabbath." Those 
from Ireland were, for the most part, unfortunately, 
grossly illiterate and priest-ridden Catholics. 

What Presbyterians Had at Stake. — The Presbyteri- 
ans had a great deal at stake, since they, as a denomina- 
tion, had adopted a system or Confession of Faith, and 
catechism, church polity, and discipline, that had stood 
the test for two hundred years, and proved itself, as they 
believed, to be in substance in accordance with the teach- 
ings of Holy Scripture. On the contrary, the Congrega- 
tionalists had no such complete system of Christian doc- 
trine around which a great denomination could rally, as 
each congregation usually had its own confession framed 
by the congregation itself. No two of these creeds were 
alike, word for word, and occasionally individual churches 
changed the terms of their summary of doctrine. The 



THE CHANGE OF POLICY. 385 

Presbyterians did not relish this desultory element hav- 
ing a foothold within their well organized system of 
theology and church discipline. It was often said that 
the Congregationalists took the Bible as their Confession 
of Faith, but they did not do that one whit more than 
the Presbyterians. 

Church Discipline. — There was another phase of the 
subject, that in relation to church discipline, which was 
in contrast with the polity of the Presbyterian Church. 
In the latter, if a minister was charged with preaching 
doctrines that contravened those of the Bible and of the 
Confession of Faith, he could be summoned before the 
presbytery for trial; if the result of the latter was not 
satisfactory, the accused could appeal to a higher court, 
even the highest, the General Assembly. If he refused to 
obey the regular summons his name, under the charge 
of "contumacy," was dropped from the roll of the pres- 
bytery, that he might no longer preach as a recognized 
Presbyterian. In the Congregational system, if a clergy- 
man preached not in accordance with the received doc- 
trines of Christianity or of the Bible, he could be sum- 
moned before the association to answer the charge. He 
was not accused of contravening a confession of faith, 
which perhaps he himself had framed for the individual 
church of which he was the pastor. If he did not wish 
a trial by his peers, he could avail himself and his church 
of the principle of being "free from the jurisdiction of 
[an] ecclesiastical court," and withdraw from the asso- 
ciation, and preach any doctrines he pleased, and also 
claim to be pastor of a Congregational church. 

After some years of observation, a number of leading 
Presbyterians became alarmed, when they noticed that 
under the conditions of the plan of union ministers who 
had been trained in accordance with the Congregational 
method of church discipline, and who apparently sane- 



386 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

tioned the same, were received without examination into 
presbyteries in certain localities. Complaints had also 
been made that "committee men," not ordained, as were 
elders, came from churches that were organized in ac- 
cordance with the plan of union and took part, as voting 
members in the higher judicatures of the church. The 
question naturally presented itself, would not such in- 
fluence, in the end, impair the efficiency of the Presby- 
terian mode of church government? The discrepancies 
on these points did not alienate the cordiality of the two 
denominations as represented by their respective mis- 
sionaries in the great West; they blended together in a 
beautiful Christian harmony in preaching the gospel to 
the people. In this manner that grand work went on and 
prospered for a third of a century. 

Irresponsibility of Societies. — Other elements of dis- 
cord were in existence. One of these was the dissatis- 
faction in the Presbyterian Church because of its 
cooperation with the voluntary societies that were irre- 
sponsible, as far as that church was concerned, though 
it contributed liberally to their funds. This feeling was 
quietly increasing from year to year, when it suddenly 
manifested itself in the General Assembly of 1829, when 
a resolution was introduced to continue its cooperation 
with the Home Missionary Society. The discussion made 
manifest the undercurrent of a desire that was becoming 
stronger and stronger to have the Presbyterian Church 
in its organic capacity and in its right and duty, to put 
forth more strenuous efforts to sustain the missions that 
were distinctly its own. This was the beginning of the 
end of the plan of union, or cooperation, with voluntary 
missionary societies. The resolution was, however, not 
passed. The General Assembly of the following year 
(1830) was remarkable for the harmony and good feel- 
ing that prevailed among its members. 



THE CHANGE OF POLICY. 387 

The Assembly's Board and Education. — Two organi- 
zations appealed very strongly to the Presbyterian church 
members for support; these were the assembly's Board 
of Missions and its Board of Education. In order to 
enlighten them on the subject, a periodical, The Mis- 
sionary Reporter and Education Register, was estab- 
lished, and by extraordinary efforts its subscription list 
became large and its circulation extensive. As a result 
of the interest thereby elicited, auxiliaries to these two 
societies were formed in great numbers — nearly two 
hundred. Throughout the church the members entered 
into the enterprise with an enthusiasm hitherto unknown, 
and that practically, as was evidenced by their con- 
tributions to the funds of the societies. At the end of 

1829 the former had commissioned more than one hun- 
dred missionaries and the funds amounted to $7665. In 

1830 it employed one hundred and ninety-eight, and in 
the course of the year more than three hundred feeble 
churches had received assistance, and the funds in the 
meanwhile had nearly doubled; the following year the 
funds had increased to about $19,000, and the mis- 
sionaries of the society to more than two hundred and 
fifty. 

These results had a decided effect in strengthening the 
theory of the church becoming ex officio a missionary so- 
ciety, as well as acting in that capacity in all its benevo- 
lent operations. It was also seen that in order to induce 
the members of the churches to realize their individual 
responsibility in sustaining by their contributions the 
cause of missions, foreign and home, and as collateral 
with them that of educating a ministry, was only to give 
them proper information on these subjects. 

Elements That Caused Friction. — Notwithstanding 
the union which existed between the Presbyterian and 
the orthodox Congregational churches in cooperating in 



388 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

missionary work, there was gradually introduced an ele- 
ment that caused no little friction. In the General As- 
sembly appeared delegates who were not ordained as 
elders, but "committee men" from the churches that had 
been organized under the plan of union, and who sat 
in the assembly and voted on questions pertaining to the 
Presbyterian Church alone, and in which a Congrega- 
tionalist could have no special interest, and for him to 
vote upon such questions was deemed out of place. This 
was a contingency never contemplated by the good men 
who projected and formed the plan of union. This 
question first arose in the Assembly in 1820, and some 
objected to the innovation as contrary to the order and 
discipline of the church; this element of irritation con- 
tinued for some years. In this first case the committee 
to whom the question was referred reported in favor of 
the principle "that the rights of a committeeman were 
the same in regard to delegation as those of a ruling 
elder." Six years afterward a similar case came up and 
was decided in the same manner as the former; but in 
opposition to the latter was entered a strong protest 
signed by forty-two members ; a similar one came up in 
1831, and was decided as the two former; against this 
was a still more vigorous protest, signed by sixty-eight 
members. Afterward, the assembly decided to leave to 
each presbytery to judge of its own members, and either 
party had the right to appeal to the synod as a final 
authority, but not to the assembly. This decision was 
evidently owing to the fact that only in a comparatively 
small portion of the church could this innovation occur. 
This element of discord was thus eliminated from the as- 
sembly by a compromise. 

An Important Movement. — In the midst of this clash- 
ing of opinions in respect to the policy of cooperating 
with voluntary societies, a movement was in progress that 



THE CHANGE OF POLICY. 389 

had a decided effect in settling the question within the 
Presbyterian Church. This movement culminated when 
the Synod of Pittsburg, as such, in 1831, constituted 
itself: "The Western Foreign Missionary Society of 
the United States," thus taking that position as the rep- 
resentative of its ministers, its church sessions, and its 
church members. This action was in accordance with 
the synod's own well-grounded theological opinions and 
also of its theological surroundings. 

Scotch Presbyterians. — Pittsburg itself and the fer- 
tile region around it for more than one hundred miles 
were settled extensively by Scotch and Scotch-Irish, 
though there were, perhaps, equal numbers of English 
descent. These settlers were nearly all stanch Presby- 
terians; loyal to the Bible, to the Sabbath day, to the 
Westminster Confession and its catechisms. They 
taught the latter faithfully to their children from genera- 
tion to generation, and not one of those thus instructed, 
when grown to manhood and womanhood, ever regretted 
the religious teaching they had thus received. The 
majority of these Presbyterians were, however, of the 
American type, as modeled after the English, and were 
more liberal in their characteristics than those of the 
pure, unadulterated Scotch type — Seceders, Covenanters, 
Associate, and perhaps a name or two more. A portion 
of the ancestors of the latter came to America from Scot- 
land about the middle of the eighteenth century and in 
1754 organized "the Associate Presbytery of Pennsyl- 
vania subordinate to the Synod of Edinburgh (G., II., p., 
2 3 3)' They did not sympathize with the liberality of 
American Presbyterianism that had taken form in the 
Adopting Act of 1729. {See p. 113, 114.) In the ranks 
of these Scotch Presbyterians were found numbers of 
celebrated men, as the Drs. James Proudfit, John Mason, 
John M. Mason, his son; Matthew Henderson, and 



39© A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

others. Great numbers of the descendants of these pure 
Scotch Presbyterians, under different designations, mi- 
grated to the Pittsburg region, and by their sympathy 
sustained those in connection with the General Assembly 
who were opposed to the lax methods and the supposed 
"heretical and metaphysical theology of New England/' 
We cannot go into detail in respect to the ecclesiastical 
divisions that obtained among the Scotch Presbyterians 
in America, even back in colonial times nor after we be- 
came a nation. An outgrowth of these differences was 
"The Associate Reformed," which was constituted in 
1804. This latter was decidedly far in advance of the 
others in liberal sentiments toward American Presby- 
terianism. In consequence, perhaps, of this well-known 
fact, overtures were made inviting that body to unite 
in organic union with the General Assembly. This 
union was made in 1822, when the Associated Reformed 
Synod, but it would seem in an irregular way, voted 
to unite with the assembly. The comparatively liberal 
sentiments within the synod, just mentioned, were 
greatly promoted by the influence of the celebrated Dr. 
John M. Mason, one of its ministers, though that in- 
fluence appears on his part to have been exerted un- 
consciously, but in a most effective manner. Dr. Mason 
was one of the most remarkable men of that period; 
as a preacher he had no peer, a fine scholar and theolog- 
ian, of generous sympathies, and of commanding and 
consecrated talents, and withal of liberal and charitable 
views in relation to Christian fellowship; he did not 
hesitate to commune in the ordinance of the Lord's Sup- 
per with Presbyterians outside of the Scotch church; 
his refined taste and perhaps other reasons preferred 
the hymns of Dr. Watts to the metrical version of the 
Psalms by Rouse. He was in full sympathy with the 
General Assembly in its work, then in its infancy, on 




Rev. Gideon Blackburn, D. D. 

(221, 327, 328, 33O, 363.) 



THE CHANGE OF POLICY. 39 1 

the lines of missions — domestic and foreign. He was 
thus for years in spirit with the progress and labors of 
American Presbyterianism. 

The Ground Taken. — The Western Foreign Mission- 
ary Society boldly took the ground that it was national 
in its character, and it carried out that principle to its 
legitimate result, by inviting the cooperation of all Pres- 
byterian churches, presbyteries and synods, and by im- 
plication that of the General Assembly itself. The synod 
had taken an irrevocable step toward the solution of the 
problem: should not the church and its representatives 
be ex officio a missionary society, and not be a mere aux- 
iliary to a composite or voluntary association, though it 
may have been, hitherto, admirably managed, yet irre- 
sponsible to any organized body or denomination? 



XL. 

Unsubstantial Rumors. 

A number of rumors were at this time afloat in in- 
telligent church and theological circles, concerning cer- 
tain defections from the orthodox and essential doctrines 
held by the great majority of the Congregational min- 
istry and of the fairly read members of that church. 
These rumors were not traced to their origin and thus 
verified or disproved, as they should have been, but were 
permitted for some time to pass virtually uncontradicted, 
and in consequence they became greatly exaggerated and 
many believed them to be founded on facts. There ap- 
peared, at most, only one center whence the evil was 
emanating, yet in certain quarters in the Presbyterian 
Church almost the entire Congregational ministry were 
treated in a suspicious manner, as if they all were in sym- 
pathy with these reputed errors. Hundreds of devout 
men, pastors of Congregational churches, were as much 
opposed to the doctrines deemed erroneous that were 
promulgated from that center, as were the ministers 
trained as Presbyterians. It was reasonable that the ob- 
servant and leading minds in the Presbyterian Church 
should take alarm at these defections, thus reported, since 
numbers of young ministers were coming from New 
England into the service of their church. These young 
men often located in different portions of New York 
State and in the Western Reserve, but perhaps the half, 
if not more, cast their lot with the Presbyterians of the 
Great West. 



UNSUBSTANTIAL RUMORS. 393 

An animated discussion of the subject was carried on 
between prominent clergymen in New England, New 
York State, and New Jersey. Professor Leonard Woods, 
of Andover Seminary, expressed the general sentiment 
when he said : "I believe that there is an alarming loose- 
ness among young preachers, and that there is a fixed 
determination to maintain a party holding loose opin- 
ions." The "young preachers" alluded to were under- 
stood to have been educated in the New Haven school 
or seminary. Other clergymen wrote of the "loose specu- 
lations which have come from that school;" and the fear 
was expressed that these "notions would undermine the 
fair fabric of our evangelical churches and spread a sys- 
tem, unscriptural and pernicious." The Presbyterians of 
Middle New York and of the Western Reserve, as a 
general rule, came more specially in contact with these 
discordant elements, because of their intermingling in 
churches organized in accordance with the plan of union. 

Conflict of Theological Opinions. — During the year 
1 83 1 what proved to be a prominent cause of disquiet 
in the churches was suddenly brought into public notice 
in New England. It was in relation to a conflict of the- 
ological opinions. Professor Nathaniel W. Taylor of the 
Divinity School of Yale College, was credited with hold- 
ing views in respect to the atonement that contravened 
the doctrines on that subject as held not only in the Con- 
gregational but in the Presbyterian Church. It was 
charged that he "virtually and substantially rejected" 
the orthodox view of the atonement. These views of 
Dr. Taylor were strongly contested by Professor Leon- 
ard Woods of Andover Seminary and Professor Bennet 
Tyler. Presbyterian papers also joined in the discussion, 
notably the Christian Advocate of Philadelphia, edited 
by Dr. Ashbel Green, former President of Princeton 
College. This controversy elicited the attention of the 
27 



394 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

leading minds in religious circles, especially among those 
who were known as Calvinistic. 

The reason why the Presbyterians took so much in- 
terest in these conflicts of theological opinions was that 
numbers of young ministers trained under such influ- 
ences were coming into the Presbyterian Church. The 
question suggested itself to some minds: can a minister 
holding the views attributed to Dr. Taylor, really and 
truly preach Christ crucified? Dr. Taylor's forms of ex- 
pression were of a metaphysical character, and therefore 
susceptible of being differently interpreted, and often in 
accordance with the predilections of the reader or hearer. 
Said the venerable Dr. John Holt Rice, when writing of 
these theological discussions: "The evangelical men are 
disputing, some for old orthodoxy and some for new 
metaphysics." And again: "I do not know what our 
brother Taylor is driving at. I find it hard to understand 
him. Is the fault in me or in him?" Dr. Rice thus ex- 
pressed the sentiments of hundreds of educated men on 
the theological opinions of Dr. Taylor. These meta- 
physical theories became a fruitful source of theological 
speculations; even if the latter were harmless to their 
authors, they did more or less injury to the church at 
large. 

New Measures. — In connection, in time, with these 
discussions revivals in certain portions of the church 
were in progress. These were conducted, for the most 
part, by the aid of evangelists for whose employment ar- 
rangements were made. They preached as to length of 
time according to the interest manifested by the audi- 
ences in attendance; sometimes the meetings continued 
for weeks and even months. Some of these evangelists 
introduced what were termed "new measures," that were 
extreme in their character and, to say the least, were 
often injudicious, but despite these hindrances, great 



UNSUBSTANTIAL RUMORS. 395 

good was done. They left, somewhat, the beaten track 
of routine preaching and strenuously made their assaults 
upon sin and worldliness in an aggressive manner that 
attracted the attention of the unconverted, more than 
hitherto. Their labors were wonderfully blessed, and 
thousands of souls were brought to Christ from the out- 
side world. 

In Western New York were prominent scenes of these 
revivals, and in connection with them Rev. Charles S. 
Finney adopted measures that were disapproved by such 
eminent ministers as Dr. Asahel Nettleton — a graduate 
of Yale College and Seminary, and himself a remarkably 
successful revivalist — and Dr. Lyman Beecher. But as 
usual under similar conditions, Mr. Finney had many 
imitators, who carried these novelties still further than 
he did himself. "There were extravagances and ques- 
tionable measures, indiscretions of men who hastily as- 
sumed the office of evangelists, and which only worked 
mischief; but the results, sad as they were in some re- 
spects, were by no means such as permanently to affect 
the integrity of the churches as a body/' (G. } II. , p. 

457-) 

Unjust Suspicions. — Accounts of these scenes were pub- 
lished and distributed far and wide, and unfortunately were 
often exaggerated. For the greater part, these scenes were 
enacted in connection with Presbyterian churches, which, 
more or less, were the outgrowth of the plan of union, 
and in consequence, right or wrong, these objectionable 
measures were associated with the views of theology 
emanating from New Haven, with which all New Eng- 
land was unreasonably credited. This assumption, made 
without proper discrimination, did great injustice to some 
of the best Congregational clergymen in the latter sec- 
tion, as well as to some of the most liberal-minded and 
successful pastors among Presbyterians, especially in 



396 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the cities of New York and Philadelphia. The latter 
were thoroughly evangelical, and were equally aggress- 
ive as the evangelists mentioned above, in their assaults 
upon sin in every form, and yet without resorting to 
measures of doubtful propriety. The Head of the church 
blessed their labors abundantly, yet in certain quarters of 
the church these men were deemed not orthodox, but the 
advocates of errors that would eliminate the vital prin- 
ciples of the standards of the Church. These suspicions, 
it was said, were put forth by those who were so ex- 
tremely conservative as to preach their congregations 
into a semi-comatose condition. The measures and 
forms of expression used by many workers in the Sal- 
vation Army of to-day grate upon the critical taste of the 
refined and educated, but they reach a class that the cul- 
tured and equally spiritually minded preachers have 
never fully reached and, perhaps, never will. 

We will not go into detail by citing examples. It is a 
sad reflection that devout ministers and whom the Mas- 
ter greatly blessed in their work, and whose names tra- 
dition has cherished in the memories and affections of 
the descendants of those to whom they ministered, should 
have been the victims of such unwarranted suspicions. 
It was natural that Presbyterians living beyond the im- 
mediate bounds of these scenes became alarmed because 
of their influence, especially when it was rumored that 
some of the presbyteries, apparently in accordance with 
the general principles of the plan of union as now inter- 
preted, received ministers from Congregational associa- 
tions without requiring their assent fully to the standards 
of the Presbyterian Church. 

An Important Rule Adopted. — The assembly of 1830 
adopted a rule by which "ordained ministers [when 
about to enter the Presbyterian Church] were required 
to give their assent to the questions proposed to the 



UNSUBSTANTIAL RUMORS. 397 

licentiates of the Presbyterian Church when about to be 
ordained." This rule had not been complied with in 
some instances. In the assembly of 1832 the Western 
Reserve Synod was charged with being delinquent in 
that respect. In its reply to the charge the following 
year the synod declared to the assembly there was no 
ground for the complaint since the promulgation of the 
rule in 1830. That synod had more churches organized 
on the basis of the plan of union than, perhaps, any other 
and it admitted that previous to the time when the rule 
was made some of its presbyteries had received min- 
isters "without the formal profession of adopting the 
Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church." In 
this reply, however, cropped out unpresbyterial opinions 
in respect to the eldership when it said that "the inter- 
mingling of Congregationalists and Presbyterians in 
many churches was a sufficient reason for the non-exist- 
ence of the eldership, according to the conditions of the 
plan of union." The assembly accepted the report, but 
repudiated the views of the synod in relation to the elder- 
ship. 

Ministers Ordained Injudiciously. — Other causes of 
irritation and complaint were in existence. When young 
men were licensed to preach it had not been the custom 
to ordain them immediately, but for them to exercise 
their qualifications for some time, virtually as probation- 
ers; unless the circumstances were urgent, as, for illus- 
tration, when the candidate was going on a foreign mis- 
sion. It was quite different when the candidate was 
expected to labor at home, and within the bounds of an- 
other presbytery; in that case the rule, the outgrowth 
of propriety and of Christian courtesy, dictated that the 
ordination should be performed by the presbytery within 
whose bounds he was laboring. A memorial to the Gen- 
eral Assembly of 1834 complained of this custom. It 



398 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

stated that recently eighteen young men had been licensed 
and at once ordained by two presbyteries — that of New- 
buryport, Mass., and the Third, of New York City. 
These ministers, for the greater part, were commissioned 
to preach within the bounds of other presbyteries, but 
in the service of the Home Missionary Society. Their 
fields of labor were designated mostly in the West, and 
from that region came the "Cincinnati Memorial" to 
the assembly, protesting against the custom. The me- 
morial was signed by eighteen ministers and ninety-nine 
elders. It was also said that other young men were thus 
occasionally licensed and ordained by Congregational 
bodies, and who, also, were destined to labor within the 
bounds of presbyteries and in the service of the same 
society. The plan of union was credited with opening 
the way to these irregularities, since by its provisions 
men were admitted to the presbyteries who had no sym- 
pathy with the presbyterial polities, and this was deemed 
an "evil operating in the Presbyterian Church toward 
the general change of its form of government and the 
character of its creed." (C7., //., p 483.) 



XLI. 

The Trial of Albert Barnes. 

In 1830, amid the clashing of theological opinions in 
the Congregational Church, and whose influence pro- 
duced a similar agitation in the Presbyterian, Albert 
Barnes became colleague to Dr. James P. Wilson (see p. 
252) in the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church 
of Philadelphia. Mr. Barnes was a native of New York 
State, born in 1798; a graduate of Hamilton College 
and of Princeton Seminary; was licensed to preach in 
1823, and is described as a "thoughtful, spiritual 
preacher." When invited to this new field of labor he 
had been for about six years a successful pastor at Mor- 
ristown, New Jersey. We may, in passing, note that he 
never accepted a college title or degree. 

The Sermon, — Previously to his removal to Phila- 
delphia Mr. Barnes had published a sermon, entitled 
"The Way of Salvation/' In it were some "unguarded 
expressions," as was admitted freely, and to these excep- 
tion was taken, attention being drawn to them, perhaps, 
partly in consequence of the theological controversies 
going on at the time. When the church in the usual 
form asked leave of the presbytery to prosecute the call 
to Mr. Barnes, and a motion to that effect was made, 
Dr. Ashbel Green opposed it, basing his objections on the 
expressions in the sermon, to which allusion has been 
made. Dr. Green contended that fundamental errors 
were contained in the sermon. 

A spirited discussion ensued, lasting for four days, 



400 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

and in which many members of the presbytery took part. 
The ministerial. character of the accused was referred to 
as that of a devoted pastor, even by some who differed 
from him in the views expressed in the sermon. Others 
deemed the opposition out of order, unfair, and unkind, 
since Mr. Barnes was not a member of the presbytery; 
they argued, let the call be presented in the usual form, 
and when he becomes a member, it will be in order to put 
him on trial. The presbytery voted, twenty-one to 
twelve, to grant the request of the church. Within a 
month's time Mr. Barnes presented his certificate of dis- 
missal from the Presbytery of Elizabethtown, with the 
usual recommendation to that of Philadelphia. His re- 
ception was vehemently objected to by his opponents, 
but the presbytery, by a vote of thirty to sixteen, re- 
ceived him as a member. When the presbytery after- 
ward met to install him as pastor, the minority, in order 
to prevent that action, presented charges against him, 
but in very general terms — "for unsoundness in the 
Faith." The moderator ruled the presentation of the 
charges out of order, "as the present meeting was called 
for a special purpose." 

The Appeal to the Synod. — The minority (October 2J, 
1830) then appealed to the synod, which sustained the 
appeal and enjoined the presbytery to hear and decide in 
relation to the orthodoxy of the sermon. Within a month 
the presbytery met to act in compliance with the injunc- 
tion of the synod. Charges were now presented against 
the doctrines said to be contained in the sermon, and at 
great length by Dr. Green. This document contained 
many charges as to the orthodoxy of Mr. Barnes and 
also implied censures. He urged the presbytery to adopt 
his paper as its own, but by a decisive vote that propo- 
sition was declined. On the other hand, the friends of 
Mr. Barnes contended that the mode of procedure was 



THE TRIAL OF ALBERT BARNES. 4OI 

unconstitutional, and they entered their protest against 
such action as "charges being presented without re- 
sponsible accusers/' which mode was contrary to the 
discipline of the church or book. Mr. Barnes requested 
the presbytery to put him on trial, "either on the ground 
of common fame or by responsible accusers," but the 
request was refused; he then gave notice that he should 
appeal to the General Assembly. Strange to say, the 
presbytery declared he had no right to such appeal, "on 
the ground that he had not submitted to a trial." Char- 
ity, at this distance, would say that these good men must 
have had in mind his refusal to be tried in the mode 
which they themselves had proposed — that is to say, the 
accusers being also judges. 

The Matter Submitted. — Finally, by both parties con- 
jointly, the whole matter was submitted, without argu- 
ment, to the assembly of 183 1. That body referred the 
case to a select committee. The latter, after investigat- 
ing the whole subject, made their report, in which, after 
complimenting the presbytery for its zeal in striving to 
preserve the purity of the church, and noting "some un- 
guarded and objectionable passages" in the sermon, rec- 
ommended that the presbytery suspend further proceed- 
ings in the case. The report, which virtually acquitted 
Mr. Barnes, was adopted by the assembly. 

Elective Affinity. — The assembly, at the same time, 
recommended that the presbytery should divide itself in 
such manner as to promote peace within its bounds. 
This was merely a compromise to be brought about by 
applying the principle of "elective affinity" by which the 
parties in the controversy could form a new presbytery 
out of the old, not limited by geographical lines, but 
based on the similarity of views — that is, the conserva- 
tives in one presbytery and the liberals in another. This 
was only an expedient for the time being, and a fallacious 



402 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

one at that; the theory of elective affinity in constituting 
presbyteries or synods, because of its pernicious influ- 
ence, was ere long repudiated by both parties (1835). 

We shall not impose upon the patience of the reader 
a detailed account of the various forms of conflict that 
ensued during several years between successive assem- 
blies and the synods of Philadelphia and Delaware, and 
their respective presbyteries. The agitation lasted about 
six years, to 1836, and thus infringed upon the Christian 
harmony that ought to have prevailed, as the outgrowth 
of mutual concessions based on the recognition of the 
purity of motive of both the parties, while acknowledg- 
ing that neither was infallible. 

Biblical Notes. — During these years of turmoil, Albert 
Barnes, the laborious student and faithful pastor, was 
preparing a series of notes on the gospels. These were 
designed to supply a great want in religious communi- 
ties for a more simple and concise commentary than the 
ponderous ones of Henry, Scott, and others. It was 
soon recognized by lay teachers that the notes were well 
adapted to aid them in giving instruction in Sunday- 
schools and the Bible classes. In 1832 the notes on 
Matthew were issued, and three years later appeared 
those on the Epistle to the Romans. 

The Second Trial. — Rev. Dr. George Junkin — who 
had come into the Presbyterian Church from the Asso- 
ciate Reformed — a member of another presbytery and of 
a different synod, took exception to certain views pre- 
sented in the notes on Romans, which he thought con- 
travened the standards of the church. He presented 
charges against Mr. Barnes before his presbytery, Phila- 
delphia Second, which then belonged to the Synod of 
Delaware. The indictment contained ten specifications. 
The presbytery patiently reviewed all of them, and in 
its decision acquitted Mr. Barnes, as it deemed the 



THE TRIAL OF ALBERT BARNES. 403 

charges had not been sustained, as they were based on 
"inferences drawn from the language of Mr. Barnes." 
The presbytery illustrated, saying that mere "infer- 
ences" were not a legitimate basis on which "to convict 
of heresy or dangerous error, affecting a sinner's hope 
or the Christian's to eternal life." And that he had not 
taught in his "Notes on Romans," "any dangerous errors 
or heresies contrary to the word of God and our stand- 
ards." The presbytery cited as a precedent for their not 
admitting charges based on inferences, the decision on 
that point in 1824, of the General Assembly, in the famous 
trial of Rev. Thomas B. Craighead. 

Since this case has been referred to as a precedent 
in subsequent trials, the intelligent Presbyterian reader 
will appreciate the following extract from the min- 
utes of the assembly of 1824: "A man cannot 
be fairly convicted of heresy for using expressions 
which may be so interpreted as to involve heret- 
ical doctrines, if they also admit of a more favor- 
able construction ... he has a right to explain him- 
self; and in such cases, candor requires that a court 
should favor the accused, by putting on his words the 
more favorable, rather than the less favorable construc- 
tion. No man can rightly be convicted of heresy by 
inference or implication; that is, we must not charge an 
accused person with holding those consequences which 
may legitimately flow from his assertions . . . it is 
not right to charge any man with an opinion which he 
disavows. {See Minutes of that General Assembly.) 

Dr. Junkin appealed from the decision of the presby- 
tery to the Synod of Philadelphia (1835). Under the 
rule the records of a presbytery are subject to the re- 
vision of its synod, but the presbytery refused to give up 
the records of the case, because at the time of the trial 



404 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

it was subject to the Synod of Delaware, which in the 
meantime had been dissolved. The synod censured the 
presbytery for its refusal to comply with the former's 
request. Mr. Barnes, under these circumstances, pre- 
sented a paper giving his reasons for his action, and then 
withdrew. The synod, however, went on and heard Dr. 
Junkin in his plea, and at its close, in mere form, the 
name of Albert Barnes was called, but of course he did 
not appear. The synod at once, on the ex-parte plea of 
Dr. Junkin, "suspended Mr. Barnes from the exercise of 
all the functions proper to the gospel ministry." 

The Appeal to the General Assembly. — Mr. Barnes 
then, in due form, gave notice of his intended appeal to 
the General Assembly. The latter met in Pittsburg in 
May, 1836, and numbered two hundred and fifty mem- 
bers. It spent one week in carefully hearing the case, and 
the result was that the appeal of Mr. Barnes was sus- 
tained by a vote of one hundred and thirty-four to ninety- 
six. In addition, by a vote of one hundred and forty- 
five to seventy eight, was reversed the decree of the 
synod suspending him from the gospel ministry. As 
soon as the vote was announced, the minority introduced 
a resolution, prefacing it in substance that, as he had 
published in his "Notes on Romans" opinions contraven- 
ing the Confession of Faith, that he be enjoined to "again 
revise the work and modify still further the statements 
which had grieved his brethren." 

The Synod of Philadelphia being a party in the case, 
was, by the rule, excluded from voting on this resolu- 
tion. The latter was rejected by a vote of one hundred 
and twenty-two to one hundred and nine. This vote 
elicited a protest from the minority, and in answering 
that protest an opportunity was given the majority to 
express their sentiments more fully. They asked 
"Whether a man who held views at the time of his 





Rev. Matthew Brown, D. D., LL. D. 

(134, 324, 325.) 



■»- 



THE TRIAL OF ALBERT BARNES. 405 

licensure and ordination, who had held and preached them 
for ten years, and who held them in common with no small 
part of two thousand ministers in the same connection, 
was to be allowed peaceably to hold them still, and to 
labor under the influence of these views in endeavoring 
to save souls ; or whether he was to be pronounced heret- 
ical and unsound, his character to be ruined, so far as a 
decision of his brethren could ruin it, himself to be har- 
assed in his feelings, embarrassed in his preaching, and 
the large number of ministers, elders, and communicants 
in the churches, who held the same views, declared un- 
worthy an office, a name, and a place in the church of 
God?" 

Though the resolution mentioned above did not pass 
in the Assembly, yet Mr. Barnes, in order to avoid the 
appearance of disrespect toward his brethren who opposed 
him, did afterward, voluntarily, revise the "Notes on 
Romans," and without changing his views, used forms 
of expression that were not obnoxious to those who dif- 
fered from him more in words than in doctrine. He at 
once resumed his pastoral duties, and was cheered by 
being welcomed back by an affectionate people. During 
almost six years he had undergone these harassing trials, 
and yet he was never heard to utter a harsh word nor 
manifest defiance of ecclesiastical authority, but in a self- 
respecting manner and Christian spirit abided the time 
when his integrity would be vindicated. For nearly 
thirty-five years after this trial, Albert Barnes remained 
in charge of the same church, laboring as a writer and 
pastor, with almost unexampled industry, as long as his 
health permitted, till in his seventy-second year he was 
called home by the Master. With a Christian's cheerful 
vision he wrote these, almost his last written words : "I 
shall close my eyes in death with bright and glorious 



406 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

hopes in regard to my native land, to the church, and to 
the world at large." 

Bible Study Promoted. — It is only just in this connec- 
tion to notice a remarkable movement and its correspond- 
ing influence that originated with Albert Barnes. God 
in His providence used him to promote in a marked de- 
gree the study of the Bible, especially among Ameri- 
can youth. Seeing the want of a more concise and 
clearly defined commentary on the word of God, and 
one better adapted for giving instruction in Sunday- 
school and Bible classes than the ponderous volumes of 
Henry, Scott, and others, he issued in 1832 "Notes on 
the Gospel of Matthew/' The good effects of the work 
were soon seen in the spirit in which it inspired the 
Bible teachers themselves and in the reflex influence 
upon their classes, by creating in their members 
a corresponding interest in the study of the Scrip- 
tures and their history. The earnestness in thus 
studying on the part of both teachers and pu- 
pils was the legitimate outgrowth of being familiar 
with the spirit of piety, and of the judicious, concise, 
and suggestive manner in which the "Notes" were 
written. Here was the beginning of what has since been 
done on that line of instructing the youth of the land — 
from the infant class upward — in Bible knowledge and 
in leading multitudes of them to the Saviour. 

The notes were popular because they were useful for 
instructing Bible classes, and the work went on with in- 
creased zeal among the youth of all the Protestant denomi- 
nations. Meantime, as experience dictated, were pre- 
pared and published simpler froms of instruction for the 
younger scholars. In order to increase the efficiency of 
the work, the religious sentiment of the teachers and peo- 
ple being propitious, the "International Sunday-school 
Lessons" were introduced. That system has had an in- 



THE TRIAL OF ALBERT BARNES. 407 

creasing influence in directing the attention of Christian 
parents and teachers and youth throughout the Union 
to the practical study of the word of God — a stimulus 
to which was that of the same lesson on the same 
day throughout the land. During the last twenty-five 
years these lessons have been an instrument in leading 
millions of American young people to become Christian 
and among them has originated that most important 
movement, the Christian Endeavor Society, and other 
kindred associations. The beneficial influence of these 
is recognized to-day in all the Protestant churches of the 
land. This influence will tell still more in the next gen- 
eration, when these young people will have become heads 
of families, and will train their children in the same 
Christian principles. 

The Example Followed. — Following the example of 
Mr. Barnes were others who wrote notes or brief com- 
mentaries on separate books of the New Testament. In 
the Presbyterian Church, Professor Charles Hodge of 
Princeton wrote on the Epistle to the Romans, and Pro- 
fessor Melanthon W. Jacobus of Allegheny Seminary, 
on the Gospels and on Genesis. Since then numbers of 
brief commentaries on single books of the Bible have 
been published by writers of different denominations. 

Terms of Distinction. — About this time came into use 
the terms Old and New School, to designate the parties 
that had come into existence within the Presbyterian 
Church. They correspond very nearly to the terms 
Old and New Side, used for a similar purpose in the 
church, about one hundred years previous. {See pages 

W 153*1 



XLII. 
The Trial of Dr. Lyman Beecher. 

The period in which occurred the trial of Mr. Barnes 
was fruitful of similar ecclesiastical trials elsewhere in 
the Presbyterian Church. Rev. (Dr.) George Duffield, 
pastor of a church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, published a 
sermon on Regeneration, to which exception was 
taken. His trial was attempted, but in an irregular and 
unconstitutional way, and in consequence it came to no 
definite results. Meantime, Dr. Duffield accepted a call 
to a church in Philadelphia, and thither he removed and 
became a member of another presbytery and the prosecu- 
tion was dropped (1835). 

A Feeling of Unrest. — In portions of the Presbyterian 
Church prevailed a feeling of unrest, in respect to certain 
opinions on theology, which were deemed inconsistent 
with its accepted standards, and rumor reported that 
these objectionable opinions were held by some of its 
ministers. During a few years previous to the time of 
which we write, much interest was elicited among intelli- 
gent Christian citizens, both East and West, in relation to 
the religious condition and future moral prospects of the 
Great valley. {See p. 340.) Dr. Lyman Beecher, who 
as we have already noted (p. 320), was elected by the 
directors to the chair of theology in the newly founded 
Lane Seminary at Walnut Hills near Cincinnati (1832). 
Dr. Beecher, though a native of New England, was a 
Presbyterian in his views of theology and also of church 
polity. On examination he was ordained by the Presby- 



THE TRIAL OF DR. LYMAN BEECHER. 409 

tery of Long Island, and he signed "the confession as a 
systematic view of the truths contained in the word of 
God." His first pastorate was at East Hampton, on that 
island, and when there was sent as a commissioner to the 
General Assembly. He remained for about ten years at 
Hampton, and then removed to Litchfield, Connecticut. 
While there he preached and published his sermons on 
intemperance, famous because they gave the first effective 
impulse to the cause of temperance in the Union. In 
1826 he went to Boston and became the pastor of the 
Hanover Street Congregational Church. 

There is no doubt that an unwarranted prejudice 
against the orthodox ministers of New England, even 
though they opposed the New Haven school, did pervade 
the minds of certain Presbyterian clergymen in the Mid- 
dle States and in the West. This circumstance may par- 
tially account for the prosecution of Dr. Beecher before 
the Presbytery of Cincinnati, by Dr. Joshua L. Wilson, 
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of that city. 

The Recommendations. — The appointment of Dr. 
Beecher to the theological chair in Lane Seminary was 
hailed as an immense gain to the religious force in the 
Great valley, by many eminent clergymen and by the 
intelligent religious public generally. He had also the 
commendation of the professors at Princeton, who had 
been consulted, and of Dr. Ashbel Green, afterward one 
of the prosecutors of Albert Barnes, but who a year or 
two previous urged Dr. Beecher to accept a call to a 
church in Philadelphia. And even Dr. Joshua L. Wilson 
was the first to sign a letter sent by a committee of the 
trustees, to the members of the Hanover Church, urging 
them to sanction Dr. Beecher's removal to Lane Semi- 
nary, giving as a reason the benefits that would accrue 
to that institution, saying: "We feel that the church will 
be deprived of his most important service and influence 
28 



4IO A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

unless he is permitted to impress the important lineaments 
of his character upon the rising ministers of the West;" 
and much more in the same strain. {The Trial, pp. 
26, 27.) 

Disproved Suspicions. — Soon after Dr. Beecher 
entered upon his professorship unfounded suspicions, as 
it was afterward proved, became rife as to his orthodoxy ; 
that is, from the standpoint of Dr. Wilson and a few 
others. It was used to the disadvantage of Dr. Beecher 
that he had brought a certificate and recommendation 
from the Congregational Church in Boston to the Third 
Presbytery of New York City, and from that body to the 
Presbytery in Cincinnati. In New York City at that 
time were three presbyteries: New York proper, the 
Second, and the Third — the latter does not appear on the 
minutes of the General Assembly until 1831. Why a 
prejudice was entertained in respect to the orthodoxy of 
Dr. Beecher, in the minds of a few Presbyterian leaders 
in the West, seems difficult to explain. One reason has 
been given, that, although his orthodoxy was unim- 
peached, yet he had brought a certificate and recom- 
mendation from the Third Presbytery of New York. 
Even in that case the suspicion could not have been based 
on the comparative lack of Christian work and success in 
the cause of Christ, on the part of the Third Presbytery, 
since in the four years, 183 1 -1834 inclusive, its churches 
had admitted to membership on examination 2843 P er ~ 
sons, while the churches of the other two presbyteries 
combined, during the same time, admitted only 1352 — 
less than half as many as the third alone. {Minutes of 
Ass. for these years.) 

The Third Presbytery was constituted on the principle 
of elective affinity, and was reckoned on the New School 
side of the questions then at issue in the church. This 
circumstance was assumed by the same parties to afford 



THE TRIAL OF DR. LYMAN BEECHER. 41 1 

evidence that Dr. Beecher in his theology was not in sym- 
pathy with the standards of the church; — an assumed 
offence, with which they also charged the presbytery 
itself. No one of the disaffected was willing, however, 
to take the responsibility of presenting charges against 
him to the presbytery — that is, in the regular and con- 
stitutional form. In consequence, an effort was made to 
attain the same end by inducing that body to appoint a 
committee to examine Dr. Beecher's sermons, "and re- 
port if they found doctrines at variance with the stand- 
ards of the church." The presbytery refused to send a 
committee to rummage his writings for any such purpose. 
Then the complaining parties appealed to the synod, but 
that body threw out the appeal, and justified the Pres- 
bytery in not violating the rule in trying a member when 
there was no responsible prosecutor; then an appeal was 
made to the General Assembly of 1834, and it was re- 
ferred to the Judiciary Committee, and the latter also 
recommended to throw out the appeal, in which action 
the assembly acquiesced. Thus the entire proceedings 
from the first were deemed illegal and contrary to the 
rule in such cases, at the respective sessions of these 
three judicatures of the church. 

At length, after so long fighting shy 01 the responsi- 
bility, Dr. Wilson, the prime mover of the affair, pre- 
sented charges against Dr. Beecher in the regular form 
before the Presbytery of Cincinnati. These charges were 
grouped under seven heads, including those of "slander" 
and of "hypocrisy or dissimilation." Of this trial we 
will give a concise account, going into detail sufficient 
only for that purpose, but refer the reader to the history 
of the trial itself. 

Dr. Beecher and Dr. Wilson. — On June 9, 1835, the 
trial was commenced, and in its proceedings was mani- 
fested an unprecedented interest on the part of the whole 



4T2 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

church, and also in a large and intelligent portion of the 
outside community. The chief parties in the trial were 
both remarkable men: Dr. Lyman Beecher was one of 
the most successful preachers, competent and influential 
men of the period. He was a graduate of Yale College, 
and studied theology in the divinity school under Dr. 
Timothy Dwight; had had much influence in promoting 
the cause of temperance, and success in religious con- 
troversy. When a pastor in Boston he came in conflict 
with the most learned and cultivated minds among the 
Unitarians. 

Dr. Joshua Lacy Wilson was born in Virginia, but in 
early childhood moved with his parents to Kentucky. 
The son of a farmer of limited means, he labored as a 
blacksmith, and at the age of twenty-two "he had no 
education beyond what his mother taught him." He 
about this time became a Christian, and selling his farm 
began to prepare for the ministry in a neighboring acad- 
emy. He had no college education of which to speak, 
nor systematic instruction in theology, but he was men- 
tally unusually gifted. He was licensed to preach in 
1802, and after laboring in different places in Kentucky 
as a minister, was called in 1808 to the First Pesbyterian 
Church in Cincinnati, where as a pastor he spent thirty- 
eight years. (Davidson's Hist. Pres. Church in Ky., pp. 

3H 3*5-) 

The Charges Not Sustained. — The trial continued for 

several days and was conducted with great skill by both 

parties; but the presbytery, by a vote of nearly two to 

one, decided that the charges were not sustained. Dr. 

Wilson appealed to the synod, which, within a few 

months, met at Dayton, Ohio, and before that body the 

whole case was again gone over carefully. The synod 

decided almost unanimously — about ten to one — as the 

presbytery had done — that the charges had not been 



THE TRIAL OF DR. LYMAN BEECHER. 413 

sustained. The synod adopted a minute on the occasion. 
After first declaring that the charges "of slander" and 
"of hypocrisy and dissimulation were not proved," but 
by way of explanation the minute gives "the opinion that 
Dr. Beecher had indulged a disposition to philosophise, 
instead of exhibiting in simplicity and plainness these 
doctrines as taught in the Scriptures; and has employed 
terms and phrases and modes of illustration calculated 
to convey ideas inconsistent with the word of God and 
our Confession of Faith, and that he ought to be, and 
he is hereby admonished to be more guarded in the fu- 
ture." Dr. Beecher acquiesced promptly in the decree of 
the synod, which also requested him to publish a concise 
statement of his views on the points of theology involved 
in the charges, among which was specified "Natural and 
Moral Ability." {Biography of Dr. B., II. , p. 359.) 

After some hesitation, Dr. Wilson announced that he 
should appeal to the General Assembly, which was to 
meet in Pittsburg the following May, 1836. 

Dr. Wilson Withdraws His Appeal. — When the as- 
sembly of 1836 met the case of Mr. Barnes, already noted, 
came before it on appeal, and as it involved, virtually, 
the same principles as those in the case of Dr. Beecher, 
Dr. Wilson said his "friends besought him earnestly to 
withdraw his appeal" — which he did. They brought for- 
ward several reasons, among which it was very probable 
the assembly would sustain the action of both the pres- 
bytery and the synod. Is it uncharitable to suppose 
from the mental characteristics of a man — a minister 
whose judgment and plea had been overruled by his peers 
in his presbytery and also in his synod, and that by 
overwhelming majorities, and who still acted as though 
he could not make a mistake, and had the pluck to be 
on hand with the avowed purpose of prosecuting the 
case before the assembly, must have had, in addition, 



414 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

a more potent reason than the remonstrances of a few 
friends? May not that urgent reason be found in the 
fact that on board the steamboat on his way from Cin- 
cinnati to Pittsburg, his overcoat was stolen, while in the 
pocket of which were the papers he intended to use in the 
presentation of his appeal. {Gillett, II., p. 465.) The 
apologists for Dr. Wilson urge he was sincere; that, no 
doubt, was true; but sincerity proves only itself; nothing 
more; a person can be sincere in error, as well as in 
truth; the crank can be as sincere as the man of the most 
profound judgment. If Dr. Wilson had had a thorough 
collegiate and well-read theological education the pre- 
sumption is, he never would have become the prosecutor 
of Dr. Beecher. Such an education would have broad- 
ened his theological views, and he would have held non- 
essentials in Christian doctrine at their true value, and 
never permitted minor differences of opinion to usurp the 
domain of Christian charity. 

Suggestive Considerations. — There are many consid- 
erations to be recognized before charges of heresy should 
be brought against a fellow minister of the gospel, and 
thus disturb the peace of the church. As long as men are 
differently constituted mentally they will have different 
shades of views on the application of Christian truths 
to the wants of the human soul. In that process there 
can be so many metaphysical phases, and because of 
their idiosyncrasies men may have on certain points 
their peculiar views, yet on the essential doctrines of the 
gospel they may agree perfectly. When they thus agree, 
shall a minister who has a theory about "Natural and 
Moral Ability," which another has not, charge the latter 
with heresy? 

Abstract Phases of Thought. — In these two famous 
ecclesiastical trials the charges in both cases were based 
on abstract phases of thought or opinion, that did 



THE TRIAL OF DR. LYMAN BEECHER. 415 

not interfere with the respective holders thereof, receiv- 
ing the gospel in its fulness and purity, nor, on their 
line of thought and interpretation of Scripture, in direct- 
ing the sinner to the Saviour. 

Where are the men of that generation whom the Mas- 
ter honored more in His service; on the one hand by 
giving an impulse to the study of the Bible, whose influ- 
ence still remains {see pp. 4.06, 244.) ; and on the other, 
in inaugurating a temperance movement that permeates 
the Nation; in vindicating the doctrine of the Trinity 
against Unitarianism, and, finally, giving instruction to 
theological students, and inspiring them with his own 
vivid zeal in the cause of the Redeemer, than Albert 
Barnes and Dr. Lyman Beecher? The question arises in 
the mind of intelligent Presbyterians, why were men of 
such recognized mental abilities, learning, and consecra- 
tion to the cause of Christ, and so blessed by the Master, 
arraigned for heresy in the courts of the church? 

There is, however, no doubt, although Dr. Beecher 
came out triumphant and labored successfully for years 
as professor in Lane Seminary, that there lingered in 
the minds of certain sincere Presbyterians an indefinable 
suspicion, which lessened his influence, simply because 
of the stigma attached to the fact that he had been charged 
with heresy before the judicatures of his church. This 
was an evil that might and ought to have been avoided. 



XLIII. 

Measures Leading to the Division. 

That the reader may have a connected narrative of the 
measures that led directly to the division of the church, 
we will endeavor to give of them a concise account. 

The results of the trials of Mr. Barnes and Dr. Beecher 
did not allay the agitation that existed, especially in that 
portion of the Presbyterian Church which had come only 
indirectly in contact with the operations of the plan of 
union. We are not aware that a single church was ever or- 
ganized on that plan in Western Pennsylvania; nor were 
there any such in the eastern portion of that State, tak- 
ing Philadelphia as a center, nor south of that on the 
Atlantic slope; the same may be predicated of Southern 
Ohio, having Cincinnati as a center. There were, how- 
ever, numerous churches thus constituted in the Western 
Reserve section of Northern Ohio, and these were in con- 
nection with the presbyteries and synods of that portion 
of the country. The latter judicatures bordered on those 
of Western Pennsylvania; to these churches must be 
added those formed on the plan of union in Western 
New York State. In regard to church polity, the ten- 
dency was more for Congregationalists to fall in with 
that of the Presbyterians, than for the latter to combine 
with the former. Says Dr. Lyman Beecher: "Three- 
fourths of the churches formed under the plan of union 
become Presbyterian. ... It was in this way that 
the New School element increased in the Presbyterian 
Church, wholly, wholly." (Autobiography, II., p. 340.) 



-, . V 




Rev. Albert Barnes. 

(399, 401-407, 4I5-) 



MEASURES LEADING TO THE DIVISION. 417 

The New and the Old School. — How are we to define 
the New Schoolism of the time of which we write? 
Wherein did it differ from Old Schoolism? We might 
characterize the latter as conservative, and the former as 
liberal; yet that distinction does not give a clear concep- 
tion of the difference. Many of those who were termed 
New School were Calvinist in doctrine; were fervent in 
spirit when preaching the gospel, and the Master blessed 
their labors. Some of the most successful revivalists of 
the period were Calvinists, while some, strictly speaking, 
were not; of the latter class was reckoned Charles S. 
Finney, and of the former, Asahel Nettleton. They both 
appeared to preach with an earnestness similar to that 
of Saint Paul, the original Calvinist. Thus an ardent 
preacher or revivalist was usually characterized as a New 
Schoolman, while those who were not so ardent were 
deemed Old School. In the minds of the church mem- 
bers only these surface distinctions were recognized, but 
the theologians went farther back to certain metaphysical 
and doctrinal distinctions, of which the ordinary lay mem- 
bers knew scarcely anything. Statistics show that the 
number brought into the church from the outside world 
by the New School preachers was much greater than that 
brought in by the Old School. 

We do not intend to enter upon a discussion of the 
theological questions of the time; the study of such is 
more appropriate to the theological class-room than in a 
history designed, more especially, for the intelligent pri- 
vate members of the church. This view, however, does 
not militate against the importance of every candidate 
for the ministry in the Presbyterian Church, making him- 
self familiar with all the phases of thought that have 
been brought out in the theological investigations and 
discussions of the past. It is, also, essential that he be 
fully equipped in his scholarship, to answer objections 



41 8 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

that may be presented in his own day against the Chris- 
tian system, and be able, likewise, to detect and refute 
theories that in their application would, virtually, sap the 
foundation of the truths presented in the word of God, 
and to recognize the legitimate effect of opinions which 
may influence the proper presentation of the gospel. This 
scholarship is required in the Presbyterian Church of 
to-day, more than ever before, inasmuch as its private 
members stand on a correspondingly higher plane of in- 
telligence in respect to the doctrines of the church as 
contained in its standards. Genuine theological scholar- 
ship will never put forth as original opinions and theories 
which have been advanced and refuted, perhaps, again 
and again in the discussions of former times. 

Conditions on Which Ministers Were Received. — The 
internal affairs of the Presbyterian Church were approach- 
ing a crisis — that of its division. The movement toward 
which, though unintentional, began in 1826, when the 
Synod of Pittsburg made known its apprehensions to the 
General Assembly in relation to the admission of or- 
dained ministers coming from other denominations into 
the church, without being required to accept and assent 
to its standards. In this case nothing more was re- 
quired of such ordained ministers than was of the 
church's own candidates for licensure or ordination, and 
therefore there ought to have been no complaint on the 
part of outsiders. Three years later an attempt was made 
to secure uniformity in the instruction given in the semi- 
naries, and finally in 1830 the assembly made a rule, al- 
ready noted {p. 3p6), which enjoined that licentiates or 
ordained ministers, when about to enter the church, were 
to be received on their accepting the conditions on which 
their own licentiates were admitted to ordination. 

During these years of ecclesiastical turmoil many 
charges were made that at this distance of time seem to 



MEASURES LEADING TO THE DIVISION. 419 

have been sometimes based on insufficient grounds. The 
American Home Missionary Society was charged with 
having ambitious plans — whatever that charge means; — 
that its influence was subversive of the polity of the 
Presbyterian Church; that its agents and missionaries, 
when opportunity served, as in the General Assembly, 
nearly always voted to sustain the innovations of which 
complaint was made. It is not strange that Presbyteri- 
ans, who thoroughly believed in the governmental polity 
of their own church, should deprecate the introduction 
within it of the lax methods that obtained in the Congre- 
gational polity of licensing and ordaining ministers, or 
in having "committeemen" instead of ordained elders. 

The Memorial Charges. — A memorial presented to the 
assembly of 1834 {p. 398) charged that the latter, on the 
occasion of the first trial of Mr. Barnes (1831), had in 
its decision evaded the doctrinal merits of the questions 
at issue; that by its compromise had "smothered the 
claims of truth;" and it was also asserted that the 
highest judicature of the church by its procedure had 
neutralized the principles of the constitution of that 
church, and had brought its government "to spiritual an- 
archy/' The memorial also presented a series of errors 
said to be contained in the writings of several prominent 
ministers, whose names were given and who were desig- 
nated as New School men. Finally, in view of the lax 
manner in which subscription to the standards of the 
church were made, these evils had grown out of the con- 
nection with the plan of union, and the memorial asked 
the assembly to annul its relations with that system. 

The assembly of 1834, after due consideration, refused 
to recognize as proper the censures of previous assem- 
blies, expressed or implied in the memorial. It thought 
it inexpedient to disturb its relations with the plan of 
union. It disapproved of publishing to the world the 



42 O A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

names of ministers in good and regular standing in the 
church, as holding views that were subversive of the 
gospel, while the same had not been brought to trial in 
the way provided by the constitution. Moreover, the 
charges were based on inferences drawn from isolated 
passages taken from the publications of the ministers 
named. The assembly also urged most earnestly 
the presbyteries and synods to exercise charity and 
forbearance, and, as far as possible, to settle among them- 
selves these difficulties and not publish them to the world 
by bringing them for adjustment before that body. This 
reasonable request was evidently based on the fact, 
geographically speaking, that the influence of the plan 
of union in organizing individual churches was within 
quite a limited area, when compared with the vast terri- 
tory wherein such influence was unknown, and over 
which the bounds of the church extended. 

The Protest Not Received. — The above decisions were 
arrived at by the assembly after a long and animated dis- 
cussion of the various charges contained in the memorial. 
A protest against the latter's general action was drawn 
up and signed by thirty members of the minority and pre- 
sented to that body. This paper was couched in such 
terms the self-respect of the assembly demanded it should 
not be received. It censured that body for refusing "to 
discharge a solemn duty enjoined by the Confession of 
Faith, and loudly and imperiously called for by the cir- 
cumstances of the church." The refusal to entertain the 
charges contained in the memorial greatly disappointed 
and even irritated those who had presented them. The 
minority were earnest in their efforts in some way to 
relieve the church of the evils which, from their stand- 
point, were impending over its good order, both in its 
polity and in the doctrines contained in its standards. 

The Act and Testimony. — In order to influence more 



MEASURES LEADING TO THE DIVISION. 42 I 

effectively the next assembly, that of 1835, the minority 
afterward drew up a paper known as "The Act and Tes- 
timony. This document was to be signed during the inter- 
vening ecclesiastical year by ministers and elders through- 
out the church, and which, when presented, was designed 
to impress upon the assembly the views of the signers. 
The paper was also intended to direct the attention of the 
private members of the church to certain innovations 
that had been creeping into it, in respect to its doctrines 
and governmental polity. It was charged that the evils 
came in through the operations of the plan of union and 
the voluntary missionary societies, and to such an extent 
that pure Presbyterianism was in eminent danger of being 
subverted. ' 

The act and testimony, in its charges of swerving from 
the standards of the church, followed the line of arraign- 
ment laid down in the recent rejected memorial. It was 
even more aggressive than the latter in its indictment of 
previous assemblies, especially the last one (1834). It 
was not altogether lacking in the accuracy of some of 
its statements; for illustration, its charge was true that 
there were some ministers who had avowed their ad- 
herence to the confession, but who, nevertheless, held 
doctrines at variance with those of that confession. The 
number of the latter was small, indeed, and not of so 
much importance as to warrant the charge of disloyalty 
to the church, brought against hundreds of godly min- 
isters, who could not see the propriety of signing an 
unauthorised document, as was the Act and Testimony, 
and thereby give their sanction to suspicions concerning 
many of their brethren, whom they knew to be as true 
as steel to the church in every respect. In truth, the 
movement was inaugurated by irresponsible persons — 
ecclesiastically speaking — though they were highly re- 
spected because of their standing in the church, and for 



42 2 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

their sincere and ardent zeal in behalf of its standards. 

Signers and Objectors to the Act. — The assembly of 
1834 did not sanction the extreme measures which the 
memorialists proposed, and no doubt if occasion required, 
would do the same in regard to the similar ones put forth 
by the signers of the act and testimony. The latter 
document urged the members of the church not to en- 
courage preachers and teachers who held the heretical 
opinions that had been pointed out in the paper, and also 
to subject such to the discipline of the church judica- 
tures, and called upon all ministers and individual elders, 
as church sessions, to sign the act. The original act was 
signed by thirty-seven ministers and twenty-seven elders. 
The most prominent names of ministers were Drs. Robert 
J. Breckinridge, James Latta, Joshua L. Wilson, Ashbel 
Green, and George Junkin — the three last had been or 
were prosecutors of Dr. Beecher and Mr. Barnes. 

The action of the authors of this movement did not 
meet cordial favor from all the conservatives of the 
church. The Princeton Review, the recognized organ of 
that class, condemned the measure most decidedly, as 
setting up a new standard of orthodoxy within the 
church. It pointed out the "gross injustice that was 
done to multitudes of our soundest and best men." 
It also called in question the facts that were assumed in 
the paper; and it deprecated the movement because it 
led to the division of the church, and finally, that the 
entire act was "an unauthorized assumption, and fraught 
with injustice, discord, and diversion." Saying in addi- 
tion: "We have not the least idea that one-tenth of the 
ministers of the Presbyterian Church would deliberately 
countenance and sustain the errors specified." This sen- 
timent was echoed in many instances in different portions 
of the church. 

A Convention Called. — The signers issued an invita- 



MEASURES LEADING TO THE DIVISION. 423 

tion for a convention of those who sympathized with the 
views contained in the act and testimony, to be held in 
Pittsburg just previous to the meeting of the assembly 
in May, 1835. The convention was to take measures for 
preserving the standards of the church in their original 
purity. Numbers of the private members of the church 
and of the eldership did not relish the position about to be 
assumed by the convention. It seemed as if the design 
was to coerce, the assembly by outside pressure, and more- 
over, they were loth to believe that so many men, who 
had long been held in esteem in the church as ministers 
and as such blessed by the Master, were so derelict of 
duty as was implied in the charges and innuendoes of the 
paper. 

The Effects of the Agitation. — At no previous time 
was there so much discussion within the Church as from 
the adjournment of the assembly of 1834 to the meeting 
of that of 1835. The agitation penetrated individual 
churches, dividing the eldership, and even threw a shadow 
over friendships among the private members themselves. 
The religious papers engaged in all the absorbing con- 
troversy, while some of the secular press took a hand 
in the fray, and, as usual, often showed a lack of true 
knowledge of the questions at issue. 

This unusual agitation alarmed the private church 
members and through its influence was sent a majority of 
Old Schoolmen to the assembly of 1835. The convention 
summoned as we have seen, met in Pittsburg a few days 
before the meeting of the assembly. In it were repre- 
sentatives from forty-one presbyteries and also from the 
minorities of thirteen others. Many of the members of 
the convention were likewise commissioners to the as- 
sembly. 

Grievances — Elective Affinity. — A list of grievances of 
which the convention complained was presented to the 



424 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Assembly. This list embodied, for the most part, though 
in modified terms the same complaints that had been in 
the memorial. Though a majority of the assembly sym- 
pathized with the convention, yet it was unwilling to 
adopt the extreme measures that the original authors of 
the act and testimony, desired. For illustration, it would 
not censure presbyteries for receiving ministers of good 
standing who came from sister ones on their presenting 
a certificate from the latter and a letter of recommenda- 
tion. It recognized the principle of any judicature con- 
demning publications of a minister of the same body, 
which were regarded as injurious in their tendency, 
though the author may not have been called to an ac- 
count in a legal way. It repudiated the principle of 
elective affinity in constituting presbyteries and synods, 
and it made the repudiation practical by dissolving the 
Synod of Delaware. It deprecated the continuance of 
the connection with the plan of union, and gave its sanc- 
tion to the theories of the act and testimony in respect 
to the doctrinal errors that had recently been creeping 
into the church. It refused, however, to break off the 
usual fraternal correspondence with the Congregational 
churches of New England, nor did it condemn in absolute 
terms the labors of the Home Missionary and Educa- 
tional societies, though in many instances their operations 
were within the bounds of some of the presbyteries, but 
being voluntary organizations they were not under the 
control of the assembly. 

Changes in Opinion. — Within a few years an important 
change in opinion had been in progress in the leading 
minds of the church in relation to missions conducted 
on the voluntary plan. The trend of that opinion was in 
favor of the Presbyterian Church being ex-ofhcio a mis- 
sionary organization — covering both the foreign and do- 
mestic fields. The time was rapidly approaching, if not 



MEASURES LEADING TO THE DIVISION. 425 

already at hand, when the church would be able, because 
of the increased number of its private members, and of 
its wealth and general influence to conduct missions at 
home and abroad independently of sister denominations. 
That it could and ought to assume the responsibility 
of not only bearing the expense of such action, but also 
of furnishing from its own members the needed mis- 
sionaries. The indications of the impending change of 
policy cropped out distinctly in certain resolutions 
adopted in the assembly of 1835, which foreshadowed 
the movement of entering upon the work as a separate 
denomination. These expressions were as follows : 
"That it is the first and binding duty of the Presbyterian 
Church to sustain her own boards." This was said in 
allusion to the Western Foreign Missionary and Do- 
mestic societies. Again : "We have done so little — com- 
paratively nothing — in our distinctive* character as a 
Church of Christ to send the gospel to the heathen. 
. . . As a nucleus of foreign missionary effort and 
operation, the Western Foreign Missionary Society 
should receive the countenance of those who cherish an 
attachment to the doctrines and order of the church to 
which we belong (Minutes of the Assembly of 1835). 
The members of the Presbyterian churches had been in 
the habit of contributing generously to benevolent and 
voluntary associations, some of which were admirably 
managed, and on whose boards were many Presbyterians 
as directors. No fault, to much extent, was found with 
these, except there was some friction in respect to the 
mode of conducting the Home Missionary Society, but 
which, at this distance of time, seems to have been rather 
the outgrowth of misunderstandings than otherwise. 

A Committee of Conference. — In accordance with the 

sentiments expressed above, at one of its early sessions 

the assembly appointed a special committee to confer with 

a similar one of the Synod of Pittsburg, in relation to the 

29 



426 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

transfer of the latter's Foreign Missionary Society to the 
care and supervision of the General Assembly. This com- 
mittee was directed to report to the next assembly, that 
of 1836. It was, meanwhile, to ascertain the terms on 
which the transfer could be made, and also devise a plan 
for conducting the proposed missions about to come 
under the direction of the assembly. 

The majority of the assembly of 1835 was strongly 
conservative or Old School. The alarming statements in 
regard to the number of alleged defections from the 
standards of the. church as represented by the memorial 
and afterward supplemented by the Act and Testimony 
had much to do in creating that majority. In this con- 
nection it is interesting to note that within twenty days 
after the adjournment of this assembly was initiated the 
trial of Dr. Beecher, and in the following autumn the 
Synod of Philadelphia, in an unusual manner, suspended 
Albert Barnes from the ministry. {See pp. 399, 408.) 

Misleading Statements. — During the following eccle- 
siastical year the private members of the church who 
kept up with the times, and great numbers of the elder- 
ship and of the ministry, appeared to have had forced 
upon them the impression that the statements mentioned 
above, concerning the defections from the confession, were 
greatly exaggerated. These same members began to in- 
quire among themselves where are these derelicts? In 
some localities of the church none such were found; in 
others, there were some ministers who, from the stand- 
point of the conservatives, were under suspicion — but 
justly or unjustly was a question. It dawned upon the 
leading minds of these church members that the half 
dozen prominent leaders in this movement might possibly 
have gone too far in their indiscriminate charges against 
the orthodoxy of so many efficient pastors and preachers 
in the church. This view was strengthened by some of 



MEASURES LEADING TO THE DIVISION. 427 

the religious newspapers declaring that they knew no 
minister in their locality holding the unorthodox doc- 
trines attributed to them in the memorial and in the act 
and testimony. Charity forbids impugning the motives 
of these leaders, saying "their efforts were the outgrowth 
of honest but inflamed zeal" — but none the less unjust. 
The agitation in the church continued unabated, the re- 
actionary result of which was the majority in the as- 
sembly of 1836 was in sentiment the reverse of that of 

1835- 

Instructions Transcended. — The assembly of 1836 also 
met in Pittsburg, and in the regular course of proceed- 
ings the committee appointed by that of 1835 to consider 
the transfer to the assembly of the Western Foreign 
Missionary Society, reported. The committee in confer- 
ence had agreed upon terms of the transfer, and had de- 
vised a plan and framed a constitution under which the 
proposed Board of Foreign Missions should be con- 
ducted. The committee transcended its instructions; it 
was only to report progress, but it had, virtually, con- 
summated the transfer. And still further, in view of 
contingencies that might arise, further assemblies were 
by a stipulation in the agreement, in legal phrase, put 
under bonds "never hereafter to alienate or transfer to 
any other judicature or board, whatever, the direct super- 
vision and management" of the missions thus transferred. 
In thus binding future assemblies to carry out the above 
stipulation the committee again went beyond its instruc- 
tions. In addition, the transfer was made contrary to the 
rule, as the presbyteries ought to have acted upon the 
question of accepting or rejecting the transfer. In con- 
sequence the ratification of the terms proposed was re- 
fused. As already noted {pp. 404, 413) this assembly 
took action on the cases of Albert Barnes and Dr. 



428 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Beecher, and acquitted them both of the charges brought 
against them. 

Union Theological Seminary. — While these ecclesias- 
tical controversies were in progress, some of the leading 
minds, ministers and laymen in the Presbyterian Church 
in New York were discussing the problem of founding 
a theological school in that city. The outcome of the 
movement was that in January, 1836, Union Theological 
Seminary went into operation. The following statement 
gives the reasons therefor : "It is the design of the found- 
ers to provide a theological seminary in the midst of the 
greatest and most growing community in America, 
around which all men of moderate views and feelings, 
who desire to live free from party strife, and to stand 
aloof from all extremes of doctrinal speculation, practical 
radicalism, and ecclesiastical domination, may cordially 
and affectionately rally." 

In its organization it was thoroughly Presbyterian. A 
rule was adopted by which the professors on entering 
their office were required to sign a declaration of their 
acceptance of the Westminster Confession of Faith, and 
thereafter, once in three years, to renew their signatures 
to the same; none but members of the Presbyterian 
Church could be members of the Board of Directors. 
The seminary appealed for support in the form of endow- 
ments to the sympathy and patronage of the Presbyterian 
churches in the city — and nobly has that appeal been sus- 
tained. Many reasons may be given in favor of the loca- 
tion of such an institution in a large city ; and especially 
in the American metropolis; among others, the facilities 
for becoming familiar with one form of pastoral work in 
the numerous Sabbath-schools — church and mission. 
These bear a similar relation to a theological seminary 
that a hospital does to a medical college. In view of this 
line of usefulness, in 1873, to the duties of the Professor 



MEASURES LEADING TO THE DIVISION. 429 

of Pastoral Theology and Church Polity was added that 
of mission work. This is the first instance, as far as 
known, in which the last mentioned phase of ministerial 
preparation was introduced in "the regular curriculum of 
theological study in this country." Again, in respect to 
individual support, in a large city, opportunities are often 
afforded students for teaching by the hour as private 
tutors or in classical schools, and in the form of salaries 
for labor performed in missions, as teachers and as vis- 
itors in families whose children are pupils in such 
schools. No small item of advantage is afforded the 
students for hearing different styles of preaching, and 
also unusual facilities of becoming acquainted with the 
great moral movements in progress in the world. 



XLIV. 

The Division of the Church. 

The decision of the General Assembly in the cases of 
Mr. Barnes and Dr. Beecher removed for the time theo- 
logical questions out of the way, and now the undivided 
attention of the Old Schoolmen was directed to remedy the 
evils that in their judgment had grown up within the Pres- 
byterian Church in consequence of its connection with the 
plan of union. During the twenty years immediately pre- 
ceding this time the material progress of the country had 
been remarkable, but there was now approaching a crisis 
of unprecedented financial disaster. Meanwhile the ad- 
vancement of the two denominations specially interested 
— the Congregational and Presbyterian — had also been 
equally great in the increase of numbers and wealth. The 
recognition had come to both, more vividly than ever, 
of their responsibility to send the gospel to the destitute 
regions of their own country, and abroad to the heathen. 
The plan of union had been in existence thirty-six years, 
and had been a source of blessing to both the Congre- 
gationalists and the Presbyterians, but now conditions 
had changed so much that the question arose, could not 
each denomination working separately in its own sphere 
and mode, accomplish more for the cause of Christ than 
in the present system of combined effort? Then, again, 
the turmoil of the last few years, occasioned by clashing 
theories and discordant opinions, had hindered the use- 
fulness of the church as evidenced in the decrease of con- 



THE DIVISION OF THE CHURCH. 43 1 

versions from the world, and also forced upon many lead- 
ing minds the conviction that a separation from the plan 
of union was essential to the peace of both parties, and 
it was hoped to the promotion of the general progress of 
the gospel in the land. 

Plans Laid for Future Action. — Just before the final 
adjournment of the assembly of 1836 the leaders of the 
minority, or Old Schoolmen, met in private consultation 
and took measures to secure a majority of the next as- 
sembly (1837) which was to meet in Philadelphia. A 
committee was appointed to write in confidence to those 
ministers and elders, who, they had reason to believe, 
were in sympathy with the movement to abrogate the 
plan of union. The persons addressed were urged to 
exert their influence in securing a majority of the com- 
missioners to the next assembly, who would act in union 
with the authors of the memorial and of the act and 
testimony. 

The committee issued a circular which was distrib- 
uted far and wide within the church. As is usually the 
case, an account of this secret movement soon ap- 
peared in the public prints. Certain questions were 
propounded in the circular, to which confidential answers 
were requested. Charges were made against the volun- 
tary societies, the Home Missionary and Educational, 
and by implication the American Board. A decisive step, 
it was intimated, must be taken; a pamphlet was circu- 
lated which declared: "In some way or other these men 
must separate from us . . . we cannot continue in 
the same body." Meanwhile the New Schoolmen were 
not idle in their undiguised efforts to secure a majority in 
the same assembly; and the whole church was sadly agi- 
tated during the intervening year. 

The Philadelphia Convention — Its Recommendations. 
— A convention, similar in character to the one at Pitts- 



432 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

burg the previous year, met in Philadelphia a few days 
before the meeting of the assembly of 1837. It consisted 
of more than one hundred members, nearly all of whom 
were also commissioners to the assembly. Warm and 
earnest discussions took place in the convention as to 
how they should manage the affair; all was uncertain 
until the assembly should be organized, since it was a 
mooted question which party would have the majority. 
In view of this uncertainty it was asked, how should 
they act if in a minority ? Should they secede and consti- 
tute themselves the assembly, or a new assembly? If 
in the majority, should they cite the synods, against 
whom rumor made charges of irregularities to appear 
at the bar of the next General Assembly? That idea, 
however, was soon dropped as too dilatory; decisive ac- 
tion must be taken, and that speedily. 

The convention resolved to present to the assembly 
another memorial, which contained a summary and reci- 
tation of the errors in doctrine said to be prevalent in 
the church and against which the assembly was called 
upon to testify in the most emphatic terms. It stated 
that church order had been violated by the principle of 
"elective affinity" — but that principle had been repudiated 
by the assembly of 1835. It was charged that pres- 
byteries had refused to examine ministerial appli- 
cants who came to them with regular certificates of dis- 
mission from sister ones, thus violating the rule which 
the assembly of 1830 had adopted. But the Western 
Reserve Synod, against whom that rule was specially 
directed, had stated in 1833, that since the rule had been 
enacted, its presbyteries had obeyed it {p. 397). Again 
the memorial charged that presbyteries licensed men to 
preach who had professed to adopt the confession only for 
"substance of doctrine." One hundred and eight years 
before (1729) the synod of the Presbyterian Church in 



THE DIVISION OF THE CHURCH. 433 

"Guarding the Faith," required its ministers and licen- 
tiates to accept the Confession of Faith and the Cate- 
chisms, as being in all essential and necessary articles, 
good forms of sound words and systems of Christian 
doctrine {p. 114). The formula "substance of doctrine" 
was designed to express the same general idea in a more 
concise form. 

The convention in its memorial condemned "the need- 
less ordaining of evangelists," such having caused "spur- 
ious excitements" in the church, and sometimes brought 
the office of the pastor into contempt. It also condemned 
the formulation of special creeds for individual churches ; 
this custom was the outgrowth of Congregationalism, 
and which was adopted in some Presbyterian churches 
organized on the principle of the plan of union. It cen- 
sured in harsh terms the decisions of former assemblies; 
and deprecated the irresponsible character of voluntary 
societies and their influence upon certain presbyteries. 
It must be recognized that there was reason for genuine 
Presbyterians being greatly dissatisfied with the anom- 
alous condition of the order and discipline of their 
church, when in connection with Congregationalism as 
developed through the influence of the plan of union. 
Under these conditions it was forced upon intelligent and 
conservative minds, even, of the private members of the 
church, that it would be better for its spiritual progress 
to be severed from a connection that seemed fraught with 
so much contention. 

The convention was radical in its recommendations. 
It urged the abrogation of the plan of union on the plea 
that it had outlived its usefulness; and also that the 
original arrangement was unconstitutional inasmuch as 
it had not, according to the rule, been submitted to the 
presbyteries for their approval; and as to the Associa- 
tion of Connecticut, it had only advisory influence, but 



434 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

no legislative authority to make a compact and, there- 
fore, in the abrogation, that body could be ignored {pp. 
238-241). It recommended not to countenance nor aid 
the operations of the plan within the bounds of the pres- 
byteries, and to dissolve or exclude individual churches 
that were thus organized, though nominally connected 
with a presbytery. 

A Special Grievance. — It is proper to note that the 
Old School were much grieved, especially at the action 
of the assembly of 1836, in refusing to sanction the com- 
mittee's transfer of the Western Missionary Society to 
the care and supervision of the General Assembly. This 
action was interpreted to mean that the voluntary system 
of conducting missions would henceforth be imposed 
upon the Presbyterian Church, and thus deprive it of 
being as a collective body a missionary society. If the 
church was ex-ofhcio a missionary organization it ought 
to have a supreme judicature to which its missionaries 
and the officers of its societies were responsible, and 
should report, in contradistinction to the, virtually, irre- 
sponsible voluntary system. 

The Assembly of 183/. — The General Assembly of 
1837 met on May 18th of that year, in the Central Church 
of Philadelphia. The lines had been drawn more defin- 
itely than ever before between the parties in the church, 
usually designated the Old and the New School; each 
one on this occasion had marshaled for the contest its 
most talented and influential men. The vote for moder- 
ator indicated the relative strength of each party; the 
nominee of the Old School, Dr. David Elliott, received 
one hundred and thirty-seven votes and his opponent, Dr. 
Baxter Dickinson, one hundred and six; thus the former 
had an apparent working majority. 

To the most important committee — that of Bills and 
Overtures — were referred a number of overtures from 



THE DIVISION OF THE CHURCH. 435 

presbyteries, and in addition, the memorial of the conven- 
tion. The latter contained a list of fifteen errors, which 
were declared to be more or less prevalent in the church. 
Some members of the assembly thought the schedule too 
long; others wished four more to be added, while others 
declared there were errors mentioned in the list of which 
they never before heard. Numbers of the errors cited 
were of a class involving metaphysical distinctive and 
subtile definitions, in which the great majority of even 
intelligent church members, from the nature of the case, 
could take little or no interest — such questions being ap- 
propriate only for the class-room in a theological semi- 
nary. A resolution was, however, passed to postpone for 
the present the consideration of the errors named, and 
instead take up the report on the plan of union. 

Expression of Good Will — Reasons for Action. — A 
preliminary expression was made by the assembly before 
entering upon the consideration of the plan of union, 
urging that between the original parties to that arrange- 
ment there should continue mutual respect and sym- 
pathy, saying: "It is expedient to continue the plan of 
friendly intercourse between this church and the Congre- 
gational churches of New England, as it now exists/' 
Then were indicated three reasons for the future action 
of the Assembly: First, that the plan of union was 
adopted specially to meet the wants of new settlements, 
and by implication, it was not adapted to the changed 
conditions of the present time; second, that the act was 
unconstitutional, inasmuch as the presbyteries had not 
been consulted and their sanction given to the measure; 
and third, that the General Association of Connecticut, 
according to its constitution, had no authority to legislate 
on the subject. These after-thought objections were 
adduced when the plan of union had been mutually acted 
upon for thirty-six years. 



436 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The report of the committee in respect to the plan of 
union was then taken up, and after a protracted dis- 
cussion the following resolution was adopted, that "the 
Act of the Assembly of 1801, entitled, a Plan of Union, 
be and is hereby abrogated" (May 23). The vote stood 
143 to no. The principle involved in this action, that 
is, on the ground of being organized in connection with 
the plan of union, would cut off all individual churches, 
and also synods and presbyteries thus constituted. 

Against this action was presented an earnest protest 
signed by one hundred and three members of the as- 
sembly. The protest argued that the repeal was a breach 
of faith with the Association of Connecticut. It was also 
an objectionable feature in adopting the measure, that it 
was dictated by the convention, an outside party, unknown 
in a legal sense to the assembly; and that a majority of 
the committee recommending the repeal had been mem- 
bers of that convention. 

An Ominous Vote — Amicable Division Proposed. — 
The report on doctrinal errors was again in order, but 
was again postponed. And instead, a committee, on 
motion of Dr. Wm. S. Plumer, was appointed to devise 
suitable plans by which "such inferior judicatures that 
are charged by common fame with irregularities" could 
be cited to the bar of the next assembly. The resolution 
elicited a warm discussion, lasting through the better 
portion of two days, and which revealed insuperable ob- 
jections to the measure, though it was finally adopted by 
a vote of one hundred and twenty-eight to one hundred 
and twenty-two (May 26). This vote was ominous; 
the majority was so small that another measure was pro- 
posed in order, it would seem, to obviate the danger of 
a minority becoming a majority, if the measures proposed 
were too radical. 

Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge, it is said, in accordance 





fBNHflHBflHHHHBi^HHSui 




Rev. Robert J. Breckinridge, D. D., LL. D. 

(422, 436, 439, 502.) 



THE DIVISION OF THE CHURCH. 437 

with a suggestion of Dr. Absalom Peters, now introduced 
a resolution to appoint a committee of ten — five from each 
party — to devise a plan for an amicable division of the 
church. This committee, composed of prominent men 
in whom all had confidence, met several times and dis- 
cussed the subject in hand, but were unable to come to 
a satisfactory and definite conclusion. Manifold diffi- 
culties presented themselves, such as the dividing lines 
that must run through the presbyteries and the individual 
churches, thus interfering with their private members, 
causing alienation of Christian fraternal feelings, and 
to these were added the financial interests involved; the 
supervision of the theological seminaries and the care 
of missions, domestic and foreign. Under these circum- 
stances the committee, as it desired, was discharged, and 
the whole matter was indefinitely postponed (May 30), 
the vote being one hundred and thirty-eight to one hun- 
dred and four. It now became evident that other methods 
must be adopted to secure a solution of the problem, since 
a voluntary and mutual division of the church seemed im- 
possible. 

Excision of Synods. — On the discharge of the above- 
mentioned committee, the time, in view of the majority, 
had come for more decisive action. Says the Princeton 
Review (July, 1837) : "The real object which the ma- 
jority desired to attain was to put an end to the conten- 
tions which had so long disturbed the church, and 
to secure a faithful adherence to our doctrines and dis- 
cipline." Immediately after the discharge of the com- 
mittee Dr. William S. Plumer offered a resolution to the 
effect "that by the operation of the abrogation of the 
plan of union of 1801 the Synod of the Western Reserve 
is, and is hereby declared to be no longer a part of the 
Presbyterian Church of the United States of America." 
It was charged that many irregularities existed in the 



43 8 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

synod, and that "an overwhelming majority of the 
churches within it were not Presbyterian." The latter 
statement was denied by the members of the synod on 
the floor of the assembly. It was argued that the effect 
of the exscinding act would be "to dissolve churches and 
unclothe ministers blessed of God;" and that remedies 
more in accordance with justice and prudence could 
surely be devised. The reply was that churches would 
not be dissolved nor ministers interfered with, and "if 
there were true Presbyterian churches in the region, they 
would come out and unite with the Presbyterian Church 
on the true principle, while others would follow their 
predilections." Finally the vote was taken, and one hun- 
dred and thirty-two were in the affirmative and one hun- 
dred and five in the negative (June i). 

The majority appeared to think there was no other 
mode but "excision" to remove the troubles in which the 
church was involved, therefore on the same line a resolu- 
tion was adopted (June i) recommending "that the so- 
called American Home Missionary Society and American 
Education Society . . . cease to operate within any 
of our churches/' Upon this the vote stood one hundred 
and twenty-four to eighty-six. Charges were made that 
these societies "were exceedingly injurious to the peace 
and purity of the Presbyterian Church." These charges 
were unequivocally denied by the minority. 

Then followed the exscinding of the Synods of Utica, 
Geneva, and Genesee, for the same reason as in the case 
of the Western Reserve (June 5). It was on this occa- 
sion announced that "the assembly has no intention to 
affect in any way the ministerial standing of any members 
of either of said synods." Within these three synods 
were churches of mixed character, they having been 
organized on the basis of the plan of union, and 
also others that were strictly Presbyterian. To this action 



THE DIVISION OF THE CHURCH. 439 

was appended an invitation "directing churches and min- 
isters, Presbyterian in doctrine and order, to apply for ad- 
mission to the presbyteries most conveniently located." 
The vote stood one hundred and fifteen to eighty-eight. 

It was adduced as an explanation of the action of the 
assembly of 1837 that the plan of union was abrogated 
as a compact, null and void, because of its having been 
made in an unconstitutional manner, and it therefore fol- 
lowed that all compacts made in accordance with that 
plan were also null and void. In the latter category 
were classed individual churches thus organized. The 
General Assembly has authority to organize synods, and 
it has impliedly equal authority to dissolve them. In this 
instance, however, instead of dissolving these synods the 
assembly left their organization intact, and thus opened 
the way by which churches and ministers, who were 
strictly Presbyterian, could remain or connect them- 
selves with a presbytery, and thus with a synod, and by 
such process become separated from certain incompatible 
elements. The exscinding of these synods was also 
claimed to be ^.r ^-constitutional . Five other synods — 
New Jersey, Albany, Cincinnati, Illinois, and Michigan — 
were admonished to take order on the doctrinal errors 
within their bounds, and to report in writing to the next 
assembly. 

Dealings with Presbyteries. — The majority, or Old 
School, determining to make a complete end of the mat- 
ter, took in hand the presbyteries, two of which, on mo- 
tion of Dr. Breckinridge, were singled out to be 
dissolved — that of Wilmington and the Third of Phila- 
delphia, but afterward the former was permitted to re- 
main undisturbed (June 7). The Third of Philadelphia 
was apparently very obnoxious, especially to the leaders 
of the convention of 1837. Of this presbytery Albert 
Barnes was a member, and it had been organized on the 



440 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

elective affinity principle. It may be interesting to note 
in this connection that within the last four years in the 
Presbyterian churches in the rest of Philadelphia ' 'there 
had been a marked decrease" of conversions from the 
world, and meantime "the Third Presbytery had gained 
nearly one thousand members." As in the case of the 
exscinded synods, the ministers and churches of the dis- 
solved "Third of Philadelphia" were directed to apply for 
admission to other presbyteries. 

Board of Missions — The Protests. — The assembly, 
having as far as possible devised measures to prevent in 
the future a recurrence of the evils of which complaint 
had been made within recent years, proceeded to enter 
upon a course of policy peculiarly its own, in conducting 
missions and other forms of Christian work. It adopted 
the Western Foreign Missionary Society, and on that 
basis established a Board of Foreign Missions (June 8). 
The Princeton Review, in referring to these proceedings 
of the assembly, says the question is "whether this di- 
vision has been effected in the way which will com- 
mend itself to the approbation of good men? We think 
not." In respect to these enacted measures the members 
of the minority were by no means silent, but ably opposed 
them in debate and then by earnest protests. The latter 
were graphic in their arraignment of such legislation. 
They showed how contrary to right, to rule, and to prece- 
dent, members of the church and its ministers in good 
and regular standing, and who from their childhood and 
earliest Christian life had been consistent Christians, and 
of their substance had contributed liberally to the funds 
of the church, were excluded from that church without 
trial, and their pastors, without the impeachment of their 
doctrinal views. The inquiry was natural, could not this 
end have been attained in a manner less harsh? Could 
not a specified time have been named — say three years, 



THE DIVISION OF THE CHURCH. 44 1 

as was proposed — in which the members of those 
churches known as mixed could have separated in a 
friendly and Christian manner, and thus become strictly 
Presbyterian or Congregational? 

Errors Acted Upon. — The consideration of the "errors 
in doctrine," as enumerated in the list of the convention, 
having been postponed from time to time, was now acted 
upon. In the vote taken the errors, one and all, were 
emphatically condemned, and by an almost unanimous 
vote of the majority and the minority. It was said that 
if one or two of the statements had been somewhat modi- 
fied the vote would have been unanimous. This vote was 
very significant and worthy of the reader's notice. It 
showed, conclusively, that the charges which had been 
so persistently proclaimed for the previous six years, to 
the effect that "doctrinal errors" were prevalent in the 
Presbyterian Church, were grossly exaggerated, having 
comparatively little foundation. There was, however, no 
doubt that a very limited number of ministers were in the 
church who held doctrinal views which were not strictly 
in accordance with its standards. The Princeton Re- 
view declared "there were not one in ten" of the Presby- 
terian ministers who held the doctrinal errors thus 
charged. 

The Connecticut Missionary Society. — The assembly 
of 1837, deeming it essential for the peace and prosperity 
of the church, abrogated the plan of union and exscinded 
four synods. How pleasant it would be if we could find 
in its minutes a recognition of what the Connecticut Mis- 
sionary Society did, indirectly, for the advancement of the 
Presbyterian Church. In the year 1797 the General As- 
sociation of Connecticut formed itself — ex-ofhcio — into a 
missionary Society. Among its first gifts to the Presby- 
terian Church was Eliphalet Nott, first as pastor of a 
Presbyterian church in Albany and afterward for fifty 
30 



442 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

years President of Union College, wherein his influence 
was a continuous blessing to the church of his adoption. 
Numbers of that society's licentiates, and who were sup- 
ported by it, labored in Western New York, and mostly 
in connection with the Presbyterian Church, while in 
the course of twenty-five years it sent to and sustained 
numerous missionaries in the valley of the Mississippi, who 
with scarcely an exception, heartily cooperated with the 
assembly's board. It sent that self-denying and inde- 
fatigable missionary, Joseph Badger, to the Western Re- 
serve, but who died a member of the Presbytery of Erie 
{pp. 295, 297)- Elias Cornelius was one of its mission- 
aries, and who organized the First Presbyterian Church of 
New Orleans, and in the same service it supported the 
eloquent Sylvester Larned — a graduate of Princeton 
Seminary (p. Jjp). That society commissioned Salmon 
Giddings, the apostle to Missouri, and who or- 
ganized the First Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, and 
also Timothy Flint (p. 372) who labored in the 
same State, and they together founded several such 
churches. This society sent may others, among whom 
was Samuel Royce {p. 28/), the first educated Protestant 
minister to preach west of the lower Mississippi. He 
connected himself with the presbytery of that name, and 
spent his life at Alexandria, Louisiana, and for a long 
time had scarcely a ministerial brother within a hundred 
miles; the region round about was his parish. When it 
was unable to send men it appropriated money to support 
other missionaries in the Great valley; of these there 
were more than twenty, all connected with the Presby- 
terian Church. 

Sad Statistics. — In connection with these continuous 
controversies within the church it will not be out of 
place to refer to statistics as to the number of its com- 
municants. In the report of 1833 tne number of church 



THE DIVISION OF THE CHURCH. 443 

members was 233,580, while in 1830 it was about 173,000, 
and in 1837, 220,557. From 1830 to 1833 the average an- 
nual increase from the world was about 20,000, and from 
1833 to 1837, the annual average decrease was 3256. This 
decrease was largely in the Northern presbyteries, which 
fact may be partially accounted for because an unusual 
number of the churches in that region had been organized 
in accordance with the plan of union, and the agitation 
that was going on affected them more than the churches 
elsewhere; and in consequence great numbers of these 
mixed churches withdrew from the Presbyterian Church. 
The main cause of this decrease, however, was that the 
proper work of the church was interfered with and re- 
ligion languished; it was not, as in previous years, when 
the church was united and pressing on in its appropriate 
duties. There were also during this period disturbing 
elements in the commercial and industrial world, which 
finally resulted in the terrible financial crash of 1837, that 
affected the whole Nation. 

Difficulties Attending Assemblies. — During these 
years of controversy there existed much dissatisfaction 
among the Old School Presbyterians west of the Alle- 
ghanies in the Great valley because of the many difficulties 
in the way of their commissioners attending the meetings 
of the assembly when held so far East as Philadelphia. 
This grievance was first put forth by the Synod of Pitts- 
burg in 183 1 ; the circumstances being such there was quite 
a reason for the complaint. At that time there were no 
railroads, as now, but instead only two stage routes across 
the Alleghanies; one, the famous national road, from 
Cumberland, Maryland, to the Ohio and beyond, and the 
other up the Susquehanna and the Juniata rivers, and 
thence across. The modes of travel were by private 
carriage, on horseback or by canal and stage-coach com- 
bined, and in the Great valley on the rivers by steam- 



444 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

boats. The time spent at the assembly and on the jour- 
neys to and from, and the expenses, often deterred, espe- 
cially, the elders commissioned by the Western presby- 
teries from attending. The same could be said of the 
lay commissioners from the presbyteries of the At- 
lantic slope, south of the Potomac, and of the South- 
west. The church of that day was ill able to systematic- 
ally defray the expenses of its commissioners to the as- 
sembly. It was complained that owing to these conditions 
the churches in the West were not as fully represented in 
the assembly, as those east of the mountains ; that some 
thirty or forty commissioners came every year from the 
portion of the church wherein the system of voluntary 
societies was specially popular, while the western portion 
was only a little more than half represented. For illustra- 
tion, an investigation revealed the fact that in the year 
1828 the portion of the church east of the Alleghanies 
and north of the southern line of the Synod of Phila- 
delphia, having forty presbyteries, sent to the assembly 
thirty-four elders, and the other portion, having fifty 
presbyteries, sent only four. Again, in 1831, the former 
portion, having forty-four presbyteries, sent fifty-one 
elders, and the latter, having sixty, sent fifteen. It ap- 
pears from the minutes of the assembly that a similar 
ratio prevailed in previous years. 

The Action on Slavery. — For a number of years pre- 
vious to 1837 the subject of slavery had been agitated 
in the South, the tendency of which was to secure the 
gradual emancipation of its victims. Societies having 
this end in view were first formed amid the evil. "In 
1826," says an authority, "of the one hundred and one 
anti-slavery societies in the country, less than one-fourth 
were in the free-labor States." North Carolina had forty- 
one of these, Tennessee had twenty-three, Virginia had 
many, and Kentucky six. In the latter State the Presby- 



THE DIVISION OF THE CHURCH. 445 

terian Church took a more active part than it did in any 
of the others. The synod of that State, in considering 
overtures on the subject, declared the system to be a moral 
evil, and contrary to the word of God. It went so far in 
1834 that by an almost unanimous vote it appointed a 
committee "to prepare a plan for the instruction and 
future emancipation of the slaves." It reported the next 
year, and depicted the domestic evils of the system in 
a graphic manner and took decided ground in favor of 
emancipation. The synod accepted the report, but did 
not adopt it, deeming the sentiment of the people at 
large not fully prepared for so radical a measure. A 
change, meanwhile, was taking place in the minds of the 
Southern people, and which was occasioned by the agita- 
tion on the subject then going on in the North, that mani- 
fested itself by sending South through the mail publi- 
cations that were deemed incendiary. It was charged 
that such papers often came in packages of goods in order 
that they might more certainly reach the eyes of the slaves 
themselves. The reaction became excessive, and led to 
enactments by some of the States of very stringent laws 
in respect to the slaves; even their religious meetings 
were forbidden and their Sabbath-schools discontinued. 

The Presbyterian Church in the free-labor States had 
nothing to do with sending these objectionable publi- 
cations. The subject had been brought to the attention 
of the assembly of 1836 in the form of a report of a 
committee appointed the previous year. The matter was 
discussed at length, but finally, on the ground that the 
assembly "had no authority to assume or exercise juris- 
diction in regard to the existence of slavery." The whole 
subject was postponed by a vote of one hundred and fifty- 
six to eighty-seven. A protest was presented that was 
signed by twenty-eight members. 

The Presbyterians in the South began to attribute what 



446 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

there was of anti-slavery sentiment among their Northern 
brethren to only the portion of the church that was de- 
nominated the New School. In this opinion or assump- 
tion they were clearly mistaken, for the great majority 
of the ministry and of the private members of the church 
who intelligently kept up with the times did recognize 
the evils of slavery, but they were unable to see how they 
could be remedied. In accordance with their views, it 
was not strange that Southern presbyteries saw in a di- 
vision of the church the only means of freeing it from the 
anti-slavery agitation. Several of their presbyteries and 
of their synods, two or three, expressed themselves in 
favor of a division, and with this sentiment coincided 
some of their religious papers. 

In 1837 the number of ministers in the Presbyterian 
Church was 2140; churches, 2865; communicants, 220,- 
557; funds for missions, $163,363; for education, $90,- 
833; theological seminaries, $20,431. 

The Pastoral and Circular. — The assembly of 1837, as 
usual, issued a pastoral letter to the churches. The plan 
of union was spoken of as having been "projected and 
brought into operation by some of the wisest and best 
men the Presbyterian Church has ever known." Then 
follow some of the objections to its practical workings, 
because the original conditions were so much changed. 
"By that act committeemen belonging to the Congrega- 
tional Church, and under its government, were intro- 
duced into our presbyteries, our synods, and General As- 
sembly. . . . The act in question goes to the 
subversion of the Presbyterian Church." The pastoral 
concludes : "That on whatever side the principal fault of 
our present disturbances may be the whole church has 
abundant cause of deep humiliation and repentance be- 
fore Almighty God" (June 8). 

The Assembly also issued a special circular letter ad- 



THE DIVISION OF THE CHURCH. 447 

dressed to the churches, the design of which was to pre- 
sent to them an explanation or vindication of the various 
acts of the assembly. The spirit of the circular was in 
marked contrast with that so clearly manifested in the 
pastoral letter. The subject of slavery, which came up 
at the assembly, was laid upon the table by a vote 
of ninety-three to twenty-eight. (Minutes of the As- 
sembly of 1837.) 



XLV. 

The Two Assemblies. 

The members of the assembly of 1837, who represented 
the presbyteries and churches within the four exscinded 
synods, before leaving for their homes, held a council. 
After consultation it was understood that the subject of 
their complaint would be fully considered at a convention 
soon to be called and to which delegates were to be sent 
by the aggrieved churches. These four synods had under 
their care nearly thirty presbyteries, while the number of 
their church members was about equal that of the whole 
church at the beginning of the century. 

Complaint and Acts of the Convention. — The conven- 
tion, accordingly, was called and met in Auburn, New 
York, on August 17, 1837. The number of delegates in 
attendance, ministers and lay, was about one hundred 
and seventy. Many of its members were prominent in 
the church as preachers and theological professors, such 
as Drs. James Richards, N. S. S. Beman, Lyman Beecher, 
Thomas McAuley, Samuel Hanson Cox, and many others. 
The members of the convention deemed themselves the 
victims of a gross injustice, inasmuch as they had been 
cut off, or virtually expelled, from the church of their 
fathers, not for reasons concerning doctrinal errors affect- 
ing their Christian character as ministers of the gospel 
or lay officers, but on grounds that were unconstitutional. 
The convention recommended the synods and their pres- 
byteries to preserve their organizations intact, and send to 
the next assembly their usual number of commissioners. 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES. 449 

The recommendation was complied with for the most 
part, as only a few churches severed their connection with 
their presbyteries. There was a tacit understanding to 
test the case on the floor of the General Assembly of 1838. 
In order to place the motives and the reasons for its 
action before the churches, the convention appointed a 
number of committees to prepare papers for publication 
and distribution throughout the church : first, to give rea- 
sons for the action of the convention; second, to define 
the rights of membership in the Presbyterian Church, and 
how they are guaranteed or forfeited ; third, to direct the 
attention of judicatures and ministers to its present la- 
mentable condition ; fourth, to prepare a summary of doc- 
trines as held and maintained by the portion of the church 
thus exscinded, as charges of defections in doctrines had 
been presented in memorials to former assemblies, and 
also a committee of correspondence, in order to confer 
as to the best method of securing the objects aimed at by 
the convention. 

The Assembly of 1838. — The General Assembly of 
1838 met on the 17th day of May of that year in the 
Seventh Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. A num- 
ber of questions had to be discussed and, if possible, set- 
tled before the regular organization could be completed. 
There were on hand commissioners from the exscinded 
synods, who deemed the excision acts unconstitutional, 
and therefore null and void, and they were present to 
claim their seats. The question was still an open one, 
since no competent authority had decided as to the legality 
of the exscinded acts, while as to the different opinions of 
the parties interested they were equally without authority. 
Another important question arose, how was the roll of 
the assembly of 1838 to be completed? 

The ordinary exercises in opening a new assembly 
were conducted in the usual manner. At the close of 



45© A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

these preliminaries the moderator, Dr. Elliott, called 
upon the permanent clerk to report the roll. At this 
time Dr. William Patton of the Third Presbytery 
of New York rose and asked permission to offer 
a resolution, but the moderator declared him out 
of order until the roll was completed. Dr. Patton ap- 
pealed from the decision, but it was not sustained. The 
permanent clerk, in preparing the roll, had left off the 
names of the commissioners from the four exscinded syn- 
ods, and this roll he reported. At the close of its read- 
ing the moderator, according to rule, asked if there were 
commissioners from presbyteries belonging to the Presby- 
terian Church in the United States of America, whose 
names were omitted from the roll; if so, it was in order 
to present their commissions. Upon this announcement 
Dr. Erskine Mason of the Third Presbytery of New York 
moved that the names of certain commissioners whose 
commissions the clerk had refused to receive, be added 
to the roll. The moderator inquired to what presbyteries 
they belonged ; the answer was, to the synods of the West- 
ern Reserve, Utica, Geneva, and Genesee. The moderator 
stated that the motion was out of order. Dr. Mason, in 
a courteous manner, appealed from the moderator's de- 
cision, but the latter refused to put the appeal to the house, 
and immediately asked for the names of commissioners 
from presbyteries in connection with the assembly. 

The Crisis Had Come. — The Rev. Miles P. Squier — 
the only one from an exscinded synod to take part — rose 
and stated that he had a commission to the assembly from 
the Presbytery of Geneva, which the clerk had re- 
fused to receive, and he now presented the same to the 
assembly, and claimed by right his seat. The moderator 
inquired if his presbytery belonged to the Synod of 
Geneva ; being answered in the affirmative, the moderator 
declared the application out of order, curtly saying : "We 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES. 45 1 

do not know you, sir." Dr. John P. Cleaveland of the 
Presbytery of Detroit, rose and amid interruptions began 
to read a paper, the purport of which was that as the 
moderator had failed to do his duty in putting the ap- 
peal, it was therefore incumbent that the assembly be at 
once organized, and he moved that Dr. N. S. S. Beman — 
a moderator of a previous assembly — take the chair 
until a moderator be chosen. The motion was carried, 
and Dr Beman took a position in an aisle of the church. 
Clerks were immediately chosen — Dr. Erskine Mason and 
Dr. E. W. Gilbert. Then some one nominated Dr. 
Samuel Fisher of Newark Presbytery for moderator; 
he was chosen. These various motions were passed, there 
being very few negative votes. The other portion of the 
house sat quietly, taking no part. A motion was made 
and passed that the assembly, as thus organized, adjourn 
to the First Presbyterian Church, which was accomplished 
in order. The division of the Presbyterian Church was 
now complete. It is worthy of note that if the commis- 
sioners from the four exscinded synods be added to those 
who retired, a careful estimate makes the number one 
hundred and thirty-six, while those who remained in the 
Seventh Church number one hundred and forty. Here 
was an anomaly in church history — two denominations 
having the same name, adhering faithfully to the same 
standards of doctrine, and occupying side by side the same 
territory. Thus they continued for thirty-two years, and 
then reunited on the acceptance of the doctrines of the 
church as contained in the Confession of Faith. 

In order to avoid confusion we will designate the as- 
semblies as Old and New School — these terms being, at 
the time, well understood — instead of by the church in 
which they happened to meet. 

The Old-School Assembly Organizes. — After a portion 
of the members had adjourned, as noted above, to meet 



452 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

elsewhere, those who remained proceeded to organize the 
assembly as if nothing unusual had occurred. In the 
minutes the withdrawal is briefly stated, without com- 
ment. Dr. William S. Plumer was elected moderator, 
and the Old-School Assembly entered upon routine busi- 
ness, such as the appointments of the usual committees, 
the election of trustees and of directors in the Seminary 
Board. In these were now an unusual number of vacan- 
cies owing to the withdrawal of so many members. Num- 
bers of overtures were referred to appropriate committees 
and were considered in order; action was also taken on 
the missions of the church, foreign and domestic. 

A resolution was passed to the effect "that the names 
of those who had left the assembly and were in attendance 
on an assembly in the First Church be transmitted to their 
respective presbyteries." Another measure was passed, 
saying: "In the present condition it is inexpedient to re- 
peal the resolution which makes it imperative on presby- 
teries to examine ministers applying for admission." 

The Question of Slavery. — The leading minds in the 
Old School tacitly decided in relation to the question of 
slavery "to let the Southern brethren manage their own 
concerns in their own way." And accordingly, when that 
question was brought before the assembly, it was laid 
upon the table. Both branches of the church, in their re- 
spective assemblies, had this question presented for their 
consideration from year to year, and they both condemned 
the system as wrong, yet from the nature of the case they 
were unable to do anything more efficient than to proclaim 
its condemnation. That form of agitation continued for 
twenty-three years, till the firing on Sumter occasioned 
a more effective mode of argument. We will not, there- 
fore, impose upon the patience of the reader the monoto- 
nous details of these annual discussions and resolutions, 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES. 453 

which were unsatisfactory to both assemblies, and are 
now of much less interest. 

The assembly had already accepted the Western For- 
eign Missionary Society from the Synod of Pittsburg, and 
on the basis of which had constituted its Board of Foreign 
Missions. This transferred society was free from debt 
and had an increasing income from year to year, that was 
"larger than was then given to foreign missions by all 
the other churches of the denomination." 

The New-School Assembly Organizes. — The New 
School Assembly of 1838 entered upon routine business 
in the usual mode. As a mere form, but for a legal pur- 
pose, the moderator called for the reports of the usual 
committees appointed by the assembly of 1837, and di- 
rectors were elected for the Seminary at Princeton. The 
assembly repealed certain measures of the previous one, 
such as the latter's resolution in respect to the Home 
Missionary and Educational societies, and it went further 
in commending them to the good will and patronage of 
the church. It was emphatic in declaring the act of ex- 
scinding the four synods as contrary to the constitution of 
the church, and therefore null and void. It made no 
new arrangements of presbyteries or synods, except in 
one instance, when it constituted a new synod, known as 
that of Pennsylvania. It was to embrace the ministers 
and congregations of the presbyteries of Philadelphia 
Second, Philadelphia Third, Lewes, Wilmington, Carlisle, 
Huntingdon, and Northumberland. It also appointed a 
committee of twelve to supervise its legal rights and its 
pecuniary interests, as such questions might arise in the 
future. 

Effort to Effect a Compromise. — It passed unanimously 
the following resolution : "That this body is willing to 
agree to any reasonable measures tending to an amicable 
adjustment of the difficulties existing in the Presbyterian 



454 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Church, and will receive and respectfully consider any 
propositions which may be made for that purpose." In 
accordance with the sentiment thus expressed proposi- 
tions were made to the Old-School Assembly indicating 
a desire for a compromise or reunion, but an answer was 
received which implied that the latter still adhered to its 
exscinding acts. In view of this answer there was only one 
alternative, to test in the civil courts which one of the 
assemblies was the legitimate chief judicature of the 
whole Presbyterian Church. Though not stated, it was a 
fact that the private members of the churches cut off by the 
exscinding acts had previously been in proportion as lib- 
eral in their contributions in aid of the colleges and semi- 
naries of the church as those who were not thus excluded. 
This consideration involved the rights of property, also, 
and the first question to be decided was which one of these 
assemblies — the New or the Old School — was the legiti- 
mate successor of the General Assembly of the church 
before the division. The New School elected members 
of the Board of Trustees of the Assembly under the 
charter of 1789. The method adopted to reach the case 
was to test the right of these newly elected members to 
a seat in the board. The New- School Assembly was the 
plaintiff and the Old School the defendant. 

The Two Civil Court Trials. — The suit was brought 
— March 4, 1839 — in the Supreme Court for the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania, and before a special jury and a 
single judge — Rodgers — and after a trial lasting three 
weeks, was decided in favor of the plaintiff, on the ground 
that the exscinding acts which deprived the latter of their 
rights were "unconstitutional." This decision made the 
New School "The General Assembly of the Presbyterian 
Church in the United States of America." 

The defendant now appealed to the Court in Bank, in 
which all the judges participate. In that trial the ques- 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES. 455 

tion as to the correctness of the decision of the previous 
court was ignored, and a different issue introduced, 
which had respect to whether the majority of the as- 
sembly of 1838 was in accord with the Old School. On 
this issue the Court in Bank decided in favor of the latter. 
It is a singular fact that in view of the premises in each 
case, both these decisions were correct. The New School 
were satisfied with the decision of the first court and 
jury, namely, that the exscinding acts were unconstitu- 
tional, and therefore null and void, and in consequence 
no stigma could be attached to the victims of said acts. 
On this ground the New-School Assembly assumed the 
title "Constitutional," which after some years appears to 
have been quietly dropped. Both parties were wearied of 
the turmoil and willing to let the contest cease for the 
sake of peace. Each one retained its property and tacitly 
agreed to let bygones be bygones, and go on in their ap- 
propriate duties as churches and separate denominations. 
So great was the desire to have peace that numbers of 
both parties remained with their respective individual 
churches when their sympathies were with the other party. 
After all, they both adhered to the same confession ; mean- 
while, the attrition of charity and good feeling and mu- 
tual forbearance in the course of years wore away the 
harshness incident to the different doctrinal views which 
did not interfere with individual piety nor with Christian 
work, 



XLVI. 

The Two Assemblies Continued. 

The Old-School Assembly met May 16, 1839, m Phila- 
delphia. Dr. Joshua L. Wilson of Cincinnati was chosen 
moderator. It very properly on May 21st celebrated with 
appropriate ceremonies the semi-centennial anniversary 
of the organization of the first General Assembly, which 
occurred on May 21, 1789 {pp. 20/). The As- 
sembly devoted itself to the usual routine business con- 
nected with the cares of the churches, which at this time 
were numerous and various, and required special pru- 
dence. Its trustees were authorized and instructed to 
oversee the affairs of the church, financially, which were 
then involved in civil suits. The report on domestic mis- 
sions told of their continuous prosperity, but complained 
that probably ''not more than two-thirds of our pastors 
and churches do at present render any assistance to the 
cause." By resolution it was declared "that the Presby- 
terian Church is by nature and constitution a missionary 
society . . . that the distinction between foreign 
and domestic missions is made only to secure a division 
of labor." The Board of Education was earnestly recom- 
mended to the churches for their sympathy and support. 
On the same line the Board of Publication was recognized 
and its duties defined as to the character of the books it 
was authorized to issue. 

Synods Dissolved. — This assembly, owing to the pecu- 
liar conditions of the time, dissolved a number of synods 
but so arranging them that the private members and pres- 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES CONTINUED. 457 

byteries could make their choice of either school. Ac- 
cording to the minutes, the number of communicants in 
the church was 128,043; the ministers, 1243; churches, 
1823. Funds contributed for domestic missions were 
$33>9 8 9> and for foreign, $51,307. 

Abbreviated Creeds. — The New-School Assembly met 
in Philadelphia on the third Thursday of May, 1839. Dr. 
Baxter Dickinson was chosen moderator. Among the 
reports of the committees was one on "Abbreviated 
Creeds.'' This report was accepted and adopted. It 
spoke in general terms of approbation of these various 
creeds in respect to doctrines, alluding only to very few 
exceptions. The necessity for this investigation by a com- 
mittee of the assembly had arisen from the custom of in- 
dividual Congregational churches formulating creeds for 
themselves, and that some of these were in connection 
with presbyteries. The committee say : "We have found 
the creeds adopted by these presbyteries [their number 
was twenty-five] and recommended to their churches, with 
few exceptions, full and sound to a gratifying extent." 
Some were used "merely as a form of public consecration 
by adopting which candidates are received to the com- 
munion of the church." In view of this report, the as- 
sembly requested all presbyteries "to examine this subject, 
and if forms are used by any of their churches, to look 
at their character." 

The assembly proposed a plan of division to the Old- 
School Assembly, but the proposition was declined. It 
recommended to students the following theological semi- 
naries: Auburn, Lane, that of Western Reserve, and 
Union in New York City. The minutes showed the 
member of communicants, 100,850; ministry, 1181; 
churches, 1286; funds for missions, $45,686; for educa- 
tion, $12,718. 

3i 



458 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The Old-School Assembly of 1840 met in Philadelphia 
on May 21st of that year. 

The session was characterized for its unanimity and for 
being careful in its routine business in relation to the 
wants of the churches. 

The minutes of 1840 show the number of communicants 
to have been 126,585; ministers, 1615; churches, 1673; 
funds for domestic missions $35,113, and for foreign, 
$48,523. Here it will be noticed that the whole amount 
contributed in 1840 fell short of that of 1839 only $1645, 
while the decrease of ministers was 208, with perhaps 
a corresponding diminution in the number of the churches. 
This change, no doubt, was brought about in consequence 
of the assembly of 1839 having dissolved so many synods, 
thus giving an opportunity for changes on the part of 
those who wished to withdraw, whether ministers or 
churches. 

The New-School Assembly met in Philadelphia on the 
third Tuesday of May, 1840. Dr. William Wisner 
was chosen moderator. The minutes for that year 
stated there were 102,060 communicants, 1260 ministers; 
churches, 1375; and also that 7421 were added to the 
church on their examination, and 4180 on certificate. 

Characteristics of Each School. — The close of the two 
assemblies of 1840 marked their division complete, in the 
sense that between them there were to be no more legal 
contests. Each one was equipped to proceed in the line 
of its respective duties, independent of the other. The 
Old-School Assembly with its adherents was a harmonious 
and compact organization, homogeneous in its character; 
that is, agreeing in doctrine and church polity. The 
New School, on the other hand, was not homogeneous in 
all respects. There were quite a number of its members 
who had been reared as Congregationalists, and with 
whose church polity they sympathized, though they had 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES CONTINUED. 459 

united with the Presbyterians, more, perhaps, because 
of their surroundings than from choice. While those 
originally Presbyterians accepted the Confession of Faith, 
the appointment of a committee to look after the abbre- 
viated creeds and its report thereon was evidence of a 
lack of harmony within that body in respect to doctrinal 
views. 

Committee ad Interim. — The New-School Assembly 
instead of meeting annually, resolved to meet triennially, 
and in consequence it deemed it expedient to appoint a 
committee ad interim, or consulting committee of five 
ministers and five ruling elders, in connection with its 
three clerks, who were to be ex-ofhcio members. This 
committee had power to act as the agent of the as- 
sembly in certain respects, and was enjoined to report to 
the next assembly, which was to meet in Philadelphia 
three years hence, on the third Thursday of May, 1843. 

The Two Plans for Mission Work. — Which plan was 
the better — the voluntary or the denominational — in con- 
ducting missionary and educational work, was now to be 
more fully tested. The former had been in practice for 
more than a quarter of a century and had produced good 
results, for which reason the New-School brethren were 
not willing to make a change for the latter, which partook 
of the nature of a theory that had been only partially 
developed. One argument urged that by uniting in evan- 
gelical work a Christian fraternal feeling would be pro- 
moted among the private members of the various 
churches and denominations thus engaged. On the other 
hand, it was contended that the ex-ofdcio or denomina- 
tional plan would enlist the sympathies of the private 
members of the denomination more, when it engaged in 
the work of missions alone, than in connection with 
others. It would certainly induce a more vivid sense of 
responsibility, individual in character, among its intel 1 ^- 



460 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

gent private members, and in consequence lead them in 
their respective duties and contributions to make unusual 
personal sacrifices to aid the cause. The history of 
American missions at home and abroad, for the last half 
century, has given striking evidence of the utility of the 
denominational plan, and that recognition has led to its 
adoption by the respective denominations. The Ameri- 
can Board of Missions — originally voluntary — is to-day 
virtually the agent of the Congregational Church alone; 
a similar relation to a denomination may be predicated of 
every other missionary society — foreign or home — in the 
Union. This change has been brought about by the in- 
fluence of conditions being constantly modified during 
the last fifty years; such as the gradual rising of church 
members to a higher plane of general intelligence, the 
prominence that has been given to the study of the Bible 
by the youth of the Protestant churches, while consistent 
with this progress is also a clearer sense of individual 
responsibility resting upon the ministry and the church 
people or members. To these conditions may be added 
the increase of population and of wealth, and the greater 
facilities of intercourse between the different sections of 
our own country and with the outside world. Even the 
disturbing events of a civil war have been overruled by 
Divine providence to develop, more than hitherto, an in- 
terest in missions to every class of the destitute in our 
own land. 

An Indirect Influence. — The intelligent American 
Christian who understands the condition — spiritual and 
temporal— of the church in countries where it is so united 
with the government as to be dependent upon it for sup- 
port, may well be thankful that the principle of the sepa- 
ration of church and state is embodied in the constitu- 
tion of his own country. Though this separation may in 
one sense be true, yet there is an important and intimate 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES CONTINUED. 46 1 

connection between the two. The State can in certain 
respects have an indirect and powerful influence upon the 
support of the church in sustaining its appropriate work. 
For illustration, in efforts to maintain itself and meet the 
expenses incident to extending the gospel and a Christian 
civilization throughout the Union, the church depends 
entirely upon the voluntary contributions of its friends, 
whose ability so to do may also depend, more or less, 
upon the financial and economical measures that are in- 
troduced, especially by the general government. All 
financial measures must, of necessity, affect, either bene- 
ficially or adversely, the industrial and commercial in- 
terests of the Nation, and thereby on a similar line, but 
indirectly, the support of the churches and their work. 
All such measures affect the church beneficially when 
they encourage legitimate industries, thus giving employ- 
ment to the workpeople; and adversely when their influ- 
ence depresses wages and incomes, and thereby diminishes 
the ability of Christian people to sustain by their con- 
tributions the ordinances of the gospel. For that reason 
and many others it is clearly the patriotic duty of mem- 
bers of the church to become sufficiently intelligent to 
exercise properly, and that in a conscientious manner, 
their rights as citizens, and thus aid in preventing such 
evils, by judiciously choosing their representatives to the 
legislative bodies — State and National. If they do not 
perform this patriotic and likewise Christian duty, they 
are so far responsible for the consequences. The financial 
affairs of the church should be conducted on correct busi- 
ness principles. 

Financial Disturbances.— At this period (1833-1843) 
there were unprecedented disturbances in the financial 
affairs of the Nation, but more especially in those of the 
people themselves, for it is a remarkable fact that they 
were virtually bankrupt while the government itself was 



462 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

rich. The industrial and commercial interests of the 
former were at length prostrated by the tremendous crash 
of 1837. (Four Hundred Years, etc., pp. 731-734.) The 
evils thus induced lasted for five or six years longer, and 
amid these discouragements the entire Presbyterian 
Church, in both divisions, exercised much self-denial and 
went forward nobly in the efforts to sustain its work. 

In order that the reader may have a true conception of 
the inner history of the church, we deem it necessary to 
thus notice the contemporary public measures, that often 
have financially so much to do, though indirectly, in re- 
tarding or in promoting its prosperity. The intelligent 
reader can remember and easily divine the reason why 
the General Assembly of 1895 adjourned with all its 
boards burdened with an unusually heavy debt. 



XLVII. 

The Two Assemblies Continued, 

Protests and Criticisms,— We will notice briefly some 
of the consequences of the division. The work of ad- 
justing the affairs of the church began and went on until 
completed in both divisions. The process affected synods 
and presbyteries, invaded individual churches, and often 
alienated friendships of long standing among the mem- 
bers. There were large numbers of intelligent private 
church members who had been close observers of the pro- 
ceedings by which the division had been secured, and who 
adhered to the Old School, but were not in sympathy with 
the mode in which that result had been attained. There 
were also numbers of ministers, some prominent in the 
church, such as Dr. Gardiner Spring, pastor of the his- 
torical Brick Church of New York, and Dr. Ichabod 
Spencer of Brooklyn, who protested most earnestly 
against the exscinding acts. There were also outside well- 
wishers toward the Presbyterian Church, who were made 
sad. The venerable Professor Leonard Woods of And- 
over Seminary, wrote: "When I heard of them [the ex- 
scisions] I was grieved and astonished, and constrained 
to ask whether there is anything in the Bible or in the 
constitution of the Presbyterian Church which can war- 
rant such proceedings." Others of the outside world 
could understand the practical workings of the exscinding 
measures if they could not comprehend the importance 
of the doctrinal differences and policies that had been 
under discussion in the church judicatures from year to 



464 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

year, and they also made adverse criticisms. Ardent Con- 
gregationalists, especially, seized the occasion to ful- 
minate charges against the Presbyterian polity, which 
could authorize such arbitrary measures. These good 
friends, in their zeal, did not recognize the fact that the 
prime movers in this affair knew better, and never 
claimed that the exscinding acts were in accordance with 
the constitutional polity of the church, but deemed them 
tf.rfr'a-constitutional. They were constrained to apologize 
for their action by pleading the extreme emergency of 
the case. Under the circumstances they were compelled 
to accept what appeared the less of two evils : either to 
continue in a connection that produced incessant turmoil, 
which was crushing out the spiritual life of the church 
and would eventually impair its polity, or by a stringent 
measure cause an excision of the synods, but in such man- 
ner as to. leave the way open for their discordant ele- 
ments to separate, and then, in accordance with their re- 
spective wishes, unite with one or the other division. 

'It is worthy of note that numbers of ministers and in- 
telligent church members, who kept themselves in touch 
with the ecclesiastical trials and other movements; who 
were beyond the bounds of the direct influence of the 
plan of union, and who, in their doctrinal views, were 
in full accord with the Confession of Faith, yet in their 
church relations allied themselves with the New School, 
as was the case, partially in the Southern presbyteries. 
There were also numbers in other portions of the church 
who had been reared amid Congregational influences and 
whose sympathies were in the same direction, but allied 
themselves with the other school. 

The Adjustments. — At the close of more than half a 
century after the times of which we write, it does not 
seem expedient nor profitable to tax the reader with a 
monotonous detail of the numerous adjustments in syn- 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES CONTINUED. 465 

ods, in presbyteries and churches, that grew out of the 
division. These adjustments, though each one was of 
a local character, continued for a length of time. Num- 
bers of them were sad in their results, as when a church 
self-supporting and doing a good work, was divided into 
two, each half not self-supporting and the good work 
paralyzed. Yet there were some instances in which such 
separation was graciously overruled for the general 
good. : 

The church in Kentucky was greatly disturbed; more, 
indeed, than in any other State, and the evil effects of the 
unusually long turmoil had a deleterious influence upon 
its progress. (See Davidson's "Kentucky.") In other 
portions of the valley of the Mississippi the results, so un- 
fortunate, were plainly visible, especially because of the 
marked falling off of the home missionary work, to renew 
which to its former efficiency took some years. We can 
have only a partial conception of the confusion that must 
have prevailed within the church during these years of 
readjustments. More than twenty synods and their re- 
spective presbyteries were agitated on the questions in- 
volved, and yet the evil consequence that affected these 
judicatures in themselves, was as nothing when com- 
pared with that which interfered with the peace and piety 
of the church members. 

The Work of Both Assemblies. — The two branches 
finally in an earnest manner took up their appropriate 
work. The New School continued to contribute to the 
funds of the voluntary associations, the American Board, 
and the Home Missionary and American Educational 
societies, and still maintained their liberal views and 
policy. The Old School, as soon as possible, entered in- 
dependently upon a similar line of Christian work, and its 
churches came forward and nobly aided the cause by 
liberal contributions. The promptness in the latter re- 



466 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

spect was credited by some outsiders, to mere denomina- 
tional zeal, but when we analyze the motives of these 
donors, it seems rather the result of a recognition of the 
responsibility that pervaded the minds of intelligent 
church members, since they clearly realized that the Pres- 
byterian Church in its distinct organization was a mis- 
sionary society, and that its individual private members 
ought to do their share by furnishing the funds neces- 
sary to carry on the work. Certain leaders might have 
been partially actuated by denominational zeal, but among 
church members such motives were scarcely known, but 
to perform a Christian duty in promoting the gospel was 
an ever-present stimulus. 

>Both the assemblies at their respective sessions in 1843 
celebrated with appropriate ceremonies and addresses the 
two hundredth anniversary of the meeting of the West- 
minster Assembly. 

At the New- School Assembly of 1843 * ne committee 
ad interim reported and their report was adopted. The 
assembly "commended the zeal and fidelity of the com- 
mittee in the novel circumstances in which in the province 
of God they had been placed." That assembly was dis- 
solved, and its successor was to meet in 1846. 

Aloof from Slavery Agitation — Conversions. — The 
Old-School Assembly kept aloof, as far as possible, from 
the anti-slavery agitation, referring as occasion required 
to its deliverance on that subject in 18 18. In consequence 
of this policy the portion of the church that was in the 
slave-labor States, though only partially satisfied, con- 
tinued in connection with that body till the firing on Fort 
Sumter brought matters to a crisis. This assembly had 
the advantage of being quite homogeneous, inasmuch as 
those who were not perfectly in sympathy with all its 
modes of action, did not withdraw, but remained in the 
connection and aided the cause with their means and in- 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES CONTINUED. 467 

fluence. It resigned all interest and claims in the other 
missions to which it had contributed funds, and instead, 
entered upon its own foreign and domestic mission work; 
looked after the education of young men for the min- 
istry, and made provision in its Church Extension 
Committee to aid feeble churches and in providing 
houses of worship. Its pathway was comparatively 
smooth, but the political agitation immediately pre- 
ceding the Mexican War and during its contin- 
uance, had the effect of causing a decrease in the number 
of conversions from the world. In 1844 these conversions 
were twelve thousand and sixty-eight, which number 
gradually diminished till in 1847 ft was on ty seven thou- 
sand six hundred and two, after which year the number 
began again to increase till in 1853 there were reported 
eleven thousand eight hundred and forty-six. The Old 
School in 1844 had one hundred and sixty-six thousand 
four hundred and eighty-seven communicants, and in 
1853, two hundred and nineteen thousand two hundred 
and sixty- three. The New School in 1843 had one hun- 
dred and twenty thousand six hundred and forty-six 
communicants, and in 1853, one hundred and forty thou- 
sand four hundred and fifty-two. 

Difficulties in Cooperation. — After the completed di- 
vision in 1838 the New School and the Congregationalists 
cooperated for some years harmoniously in their appro- 
priate work. The former gave their contributions nearly 
all to the common fund of the voluntary societies. In re- 
lation to foreign missions there appears to have been 
no difficulty in their being carried on conjointly, but in 
conducting home missions there happened to be more or 
less friction, which hampered the work. The New- 
School branch, as a denomination, was retarded in its 
progress because of its not being truly homogeneous 
nor in perfect harmony with itself. Its members, those 



468 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

who were originally Congregationalists, seeing the effects 
that resulted from the excision acts, became more and 
more inclined to act in their missions independently as a 
denomination, and in consequence began virtually to 
withdraw from cooperating in the Home Mission and 
Educational societies. This action seems to have arisen 
from the fact that some of these churches thus aided were 
Congregational, some Presbyterian, and others that were 
mixed or composed of both parties. There appears to 
have grown up, as incidental to such conditions, a sort 
of rivalry, perhaps unconscious, between these congre- 
gations. The Presbyterians complained that their mis- 
sion churches did not receive the amount of aid to which 
they were entitled; that is, in proportion to what they 
contributed. The answer to the complaint was that the 
rules of the society, in a measure, restricted donations to 
Presbyterian churches, and when an appeal was made to 
the Eastern Congregational churches, the request was 
denied. Then the Presbyterians, in order to aid their 
own churches, took up special collections in addition to 
what they had contributed to the general fund ; the Home 
Missionary Society complained of these collections, con- 
tending that they, too, should go into the general fund. 
In i860 this question came up in the General Assembly, 
and its minutes say: "We deeply regret that our rela- 
tions to the Home Missionary Society seem to grow 
more and more complicated and embarrassing. . . . 
The leading Congregational associations in their action 
seem to forbode a speedy dissolution of the copartnership 
in that society. " Then in allusion to the fault-finding 
with Presbyterians making special collections to aid 
strictly Presbyterian churches, the assembly says: "We 
have never expressly nor by remote implication bound 
ourselves to make that society the exclusive agent of our 
church in the home missionary work." The assembly 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES CONTINUED. 469 

in order to provide against future deficiencies had seven 
years before, in 1853, determined to raise a fund of one 
hundred thousand dollars, by its own exertions, to be 
used specially in aiding such churches. The effort was at 
length successful, and this fact stimulated the members 
of the church to greater exertions in aiding the cause. 

The Secession of Synods. — There were other elements 
of discord, and in 1858 in consequence of the slavery 
agitation, six Southern Synods withdrew from their con- 
nection with the New-School Assembly. They were the 
Synods of Missouri, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, 
West Tennessee, and Mississippi ; in all, twenty-one pres- 
byteries and more than fifteen thousand church mem- 
bers. They constituted themselves "The United Synod 
of the Presbyterian Church." That body stood aloof 
until 1864, when the two Southern branches united under 
the present title, "The Presbyterian Church in the United 
States/' 

The American Missionary Association. — This or- 
ganization was distinctly Congregational in its manage- 
ment and denominational in its operations. It would, 
however, aid churches that were constituted on a mixed 
basis. This arrangement appears to have had the effect 
of drawing off to the Congregajtionalists numbers of 
churches thus organized, which were nominally Presby- 
terian, and as such were counted in the statistics. In 
consequence of these two depletions the New-School 
branch was weakened to a large extent. 

The Revival of 1857. — A revival in which the Pres- 
byterian as well as other evangelical denominations par- 
ticipated, commenced in the City of New York in the 
autumn of 1857. It was remarkable inasmuch as it came 
upon men as "a still small voice;" there were no special 
leaders nor concerted action. It came at the end of a 
period of about ten years of unusual anxiety in the na- 



470 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

tion — the Mexican War, the discovery of gold in Cali- 
fornia, and the excitements and enterprises that were its 
outgrowth. The American people seemed weary and 
needed rest; which came in a manner that was unde- 
sirable, though it was overruled by a beneficent provi- 
dence to result in untold blessings. The rest came in 
the stagnation of nearly all the mechanical industries of 
the land — the political and economical causes of which 
we need not here trace. Multitudes were thrown out of 
employment; a great depression in business became uni- 
versal. In the midst of these material disasters, men 
engaged in their ordinary affairs seemed to be moved 
by an all-pervading, indefinable influence, that turned 
their attention to sacred subjects. Impressed by this un- 
usual fact, a Christian man, Jeremiah Lamphier, sexton 
of the Collegiate Church in Fulton street, opened one 
of its rooms for a midday hour of prayer. Only a few 
attended at first, but soon came crowds, mostly business 
men, and other rooms were required for their accommo- 
dation. The influence spread, and within less than a 
year about twenty such daily meetings for prayer were 
held in different parts of the city; a prominent theater in 
one of its busiest portions was crowded by earnest men, 
who were instructed by eminent ministers in the gospel 
truths pertaining to personal religion. The same spirit 
spread far and wide, and ere long other cities and towns 
were reached until there was scarcely one in the whole 
land that did not have a number of similar prayer-meet- 
ings. They were union in spirit and conducted in a 
Christian and brotherly manner; ministers of the evan- 
gelical denominations led in turn and often well-known 
Christian laymen. "This revival was the introduction 
to a new era of the nation's spiritual life. It was a train- 
ing-school for a force of lay evangelists for future work, 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES CONTINUED. 47 1 

eminent among whom is the name of Dwight L. Moody." 
(Am. Christianity, p. 344.) 

It is estimated that through the influence of these 
prayer-meetings 1,000,000 persons were brought into the 
church from the outside world. The public interest was 
so great that the leading newspapers noticed these meet- 
ings from day to day, and from that day on the secular 
press has been accustomed to notice more or less fully the 
religious movements of the times. The Fulton street 
"noonday prayer-meeting" still continues. 



XLVIII. 
The Two Assemblies Continued. , 

A Decided Stand Taken. — The affairs of the Nation 
were now rapidly approaching a crisis, unprecedented 
in its history — the commencement of a civil war that 
resulted in consequences second only in importance to 
those of the Revolution. 

About one month after the firing on Fort Sumter both 
the New and the Old-School assemblies met in Philadel- 
phia, May, 1861. They both took high and patriotic 
ground in respect to the war thus wantonly inaugurated. 
The New School, in condemnation, traced its cause to 
the deliberate purpose of those who had thus insulted 
the flag of their country, to sustain and make perpetual 
the then existing system of slavery. During the sad con- 
flict its members maintained the same high standard of 
patriotism and made great sacrifices to preserve the 
Union. 

The Old School enunciated the sentiments of the 
church, when on motion of Dr. Gardiner Spring it re- 
solved : "That the members of this General Assembly, in 
the spirit of that Christian patriotism which the Scrip- 
tures enjoin, and which has always characterized this 
church, do hereby acknowledge and declare their obliga- 
tion, so far as in them lies, to maintain the Constitu- 
tion of these United States in the full exercise of all its 
legitimate powers, to preserve our beloved Union un- 
impaired, and to restore its inestimable blessings to every 
portion of the land." The vote stood one hundred and 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES CONTINUED. 473 

fifty-six in the affirmative to sixty-six in the negative. 
In justice to the limited number of the members from 
the free-labor States who voted in the negative, it should 
be stated that they were not disloyal to the Union, but 
they believed the church, as such, should act only on 
spiritual affairs, and not even by implication take part 
in those that were secular. The Southern members, then 
and afterward, almost universally held the extreme view 
of the church keeping itself aloof from acting on secular 
affairs, This may be inferred from the fact that in the 
minutes of their assemblies held during the Civil War 
allusion is scarcely ever made to that subject, though to all 
it must have been of absorbing interest. 

The above resolution, with others of similar import, 
deeply offended the portion of the Old School branch 
within the slave-labor States. These members, accord- 
ingly, withdrew and formed "The Presbyterian Church 
in the Confederate States of America. " 

We have already seen {p. 469) the New-School As- 
sembly, to a certain extent, freed by the secession of 
synods, from the continuous and bitter discussions of the 
question of slavery, and now the Old School experi- 
enced a similar relief. These discussions had been very 
disturbing in their influence, as they often produced 
harsh feelings because of misunderstandings arising from 
extreme views of both parties coming in collision and 
ignoring a middle course, that might not have compro- 
mised the church with the evil and yet could have con- 
sistently labored for its removal. It is better, if possible, 
to look at the question from the standpoint of the good 
and earnest men, who in that day confronted the evil 
face to face, than from the point of view taken after 
an experiment of thirty odd years. 

A Change in the Mode of Conducting Missions. — 
Owing to the continual dissatisfaction in conducting mis- 
32 



474 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 

sions on the voluntary or cooperative plan, the New 
School began to verge toward the ex-ofdcio system. The 
Congregationalists, as we have seen {p. 468), had al- 
ready given indications of their moving in the same di- 
rection. Their General Assembly of 1861, as an earnest 
of this change of policy, resolved "to assume the re- 
sponsibility of conducting the work of home missions 
within its bounds;" which theory of action was declared 
to be in accordance "with the constitution of the church." 
In consequence, a permanent committee was appointed, 
"The Presbyterian Committee on Home Missions." The 
report of this committee to the next assembly made 
known the encouraging fact that the churches had 
promptly and liberally responded with their contributions 
to thus carry on the work. Notwithstanding the in- 
creasing dissatisfaction with the voluntary plan, the New 
School churches in great numbers still continued to con- 
tribute to the funds of the Home Missionary Society, 
which the same year (1862), "receipted for nearly forty 
thousand dollars from persons known to be Presby- 
terians or from churches connected with presbyteries, or 
places where there was known to be a Presbyterian 
church alone." (Gillett, II. , p. 562.) From this fund, 
"or any considerable portion of it," because of cer- 
tain rules — which could have been easily changed — "Pres- 
byterian churches could derive no aid." The committee 
on ministerial education, it appears, had not been spe- 
cially successful in its work owing to the cooperative 
plan, and in that case, too, it became necessary "to har- 
monize the plans and concentrate the energies of the 
church." Another distinct denominational effort was 
previously made in establishing in 1852 a board known 
as "The Presbyterian Publication Committee," which two 
years later was directed "to publish such works of an 
evangelical character as may be profitable to the church at 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES CONTINUED. 475 

large." The latter work languished so much as to attract 
attention, and in 1863 an appeal was made to the churches 
to furnish a fund of fifty thousand dollars, and they re- 
sponding liberally, contributed the amount. 

The Old School Unhindered. — While the New-School 
brethren were thus unfortunately trammeled, the Old 
School, free from such hindrances were vigorously prose- 
cuting their work. The latter had the essential appliances 
for so doing, especially in their missions, foreign and do- 
mestic; they had also boards of ministerial education and 
of publication and church extension. The church in its 
individual capacity being harmonious in its management 
and not hindered by uncongenial combinations, went on 
in a quiet manner and in a moderate degree increased 
its membership by additions from the world. From 1858 
to 1869 was a time of unparalleled turmoil in the Nation 
itself, including the special agitation preceding the Civil 
War, that itself, and the Reconstruction period. The in- 
fluence of these for each special time, had a depressing 
effect upon the progress of spirituality in both churches 
and in the whole land. For several reasons the Old 
School held its own in the slave-labor States up to 1861 
and was successful in its duties, while it was equally ener- 
getic in the different fields in the West and among the 
churches in the Northern States. From the division up 
to the time of firing on Sumter it had had peace with- 
in its borders, and was thus free to promote its appropriate 
work. 

Emancipation — The Freedmen. — The Proclamation 
that freed the slaves, January 1, 1863, prepared the way 
for opening a vast field for domestic missions in aid of 
the freedmen, The latter would now be permitted, and 
even urged to learn to read and write, and have the gospel 
presented to them untrammeled by laws antagonistic to 
the principles of Christianity, as embodied in the Golden 



476 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Rule. Their future, even when their freedom was pro- 
claimed, was under a cloud. The Presbyterian Church in 
both its branches, began as soon as the way was opened, 
to do its share in lifting that cloud, by means of self- 
denying missionaries and teachers, while the liberal con- 
tributions of its private members sustained the work. 
Here was a race emerging from a servitude lasting more 
than two hundred years, in which the cruelty of the bond- 
age was enhanced by laws designed to keep the victims 
in a state of mental imbecility, by forbidding under se- 
vere penalties their being taught to read — a wanton out- 
rage, unknown even to the slaveholders of ancient 
heathen Rome. When the conditions under which they 
have labored are considered, the progress of the freed- 
men since that time is simply marvelous, in almost every 
respect. Nor must we overlook the leaven of the gospel 
that in spite of such laws had been placed in the minds 
of these people by the limited means of oral instruction in 
the truths of Christianity, and which led them to believe 
that their deliverance would come from the outside, simi- 
lar to that of the Israelites of old — in this respect their 
trust in Providence was marvelous. They themselves 
were passive ; they were waiting for a Moses to lead them 
out. (Four Hundred Years, etc., p. 966.) To fully 
understand the difficulties in the way of the church, it 
must be recognized that this question had another side, 
one that involved economical principles which led to po- 
litical action on the part of the National government and 
also within the several States. These measures in the 
minds of the Christian portion of the people gave tone 
to the moral aspects of the case, though that feature was 
apparently overlooked by a certain class of public men, 
who sneered at Christian statesmen as being of the "Sun- 
day-school order." 
Innovations Attempted. — We have seen that as soon as 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES CONTINUED. 477 

the division was completed a desire for a change from the 
perfect presbyterial order began to manifest itself in the 
New-School branch. The innovation was first made in 
respect to the annual meetings of the General Assembly, 
which were hereafter to be triennial. The presbytery and 
the synod were left intact as to their legislative and disci- 
plinary powers. The change to the triennial assemblies im- 
paired the utility and the symmetry of the system of pres- 
byterial oversight of the churches. Other changes were, 
also made. ''Unfortunate in their leaders . . . they 
[the Presbyterian portion] allowed the project of modify- 
ing the Constitution of the Church to pass without oppo- 
sition, only a few years later to repudiate their incon- 
siderate mistake by a prompt restoration of the 'Book' 
to its original integrity." (G., II., p. 554.) These re- 
spective changes can be traced directly to the influence of 
Congregationalism, that had been for a number of years 
creeping into the Presbyterian Church and for the most 
part produced the New-School phase of that body. It 
is consistent for an advocate of a polity that makes every 
church organization independent of all others, singly or 
combined, to oppose church judicatures that have legisla- 
tive power, and on the other hand, to sanction a council 
that has only the negative authority of being advisory in 
its character. 

From this independency of individual churches rose the 
voluntary missionary associations, but about 1852 and on- 
ward the theory that the church in its denominational 
capacity ought to carry on missionary work, began to pre- 
vail among Congregationalists, many of whom were 
members of churches in connection with the New-School 
Assembly, and who seemed to be preparing to follow the 
Connecticut Association, which in 1797 declared itself in 
almost so many words to be ex-ofUcio, a missionary so- 
ciety. This sentiment culminated in 1852 at Albany, 



47 8 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

when the Congregational Convention repudiated the plan 
of union of which in 1837 they were such strenuous ad- 
vocates. The result of this decision was the abandonment 
of the Presbyterian Churches that had hitherto contrib- 
uted to the Home Missionary Society and in proportion 
depended upon it for the needed aid. These Presbyterian 
churches thus thrown upon their own resources withheld 
their contributions from that society and applied them to 
sustain their own churches. 

Triennial Assemblies — Protests. — The experiment of 
triennial assemblies was continued: up to the meeting in 
1846 wherein the almost interminable discussion on the 
slavery question was protracted at intervals for three 
weeks, and in consequence an immense amount of routine 
and important business was left unfinished. Meantime, 
protests were coming in against the present system of 
triennial meetings and the anomalous committee ad in- 
terim. The protests came principally from the Western 
churches. They complained: ''That in the absence of 
an annual assembly, our churches had been left for a 
longer time than formerly without the visible bond of 
unity and without the frequent supervision and control of 
the highest judicature of the church." The assembly of 
1846, therefore, found it necessary, in consequence of the 
wants made known by these protests, to meet the follow- 
ing year, and designated Cincinnati as the place. This 
was the first instance of a General Assembly meeting out- 
side the State of Pennsylvania. Once more it was thought 
best to meet triennially andj that assembly resolved to 
meet in Detroit, Michigan, in 1850. The comparative 
utility and necessity for annual meetings made it plainly 
expedient to return to them, and thus the original custom 
was resumed after 1850 and continued to the reunion in 
1870. 

The Singular Results. — Owing to the secession of the 



THE TWO ASSEMBLIES CONTINUED. 479 

seven Southern synods in 1858 the minutes of i860 of the 
New-School Assembly revealed a falling off of sixty- 
seven ministers and one hundred and forty-five churches, 
and about fifteen thousand communicants. From i860 to 
1869 its ministers increased in number three hundred and 
twenty-five, while its churches during the same time in- 
creased only one hundred and forty-nine. The minutes 
of the latter year show eighteen hundred and forty-eight 
ministers and sixteen hundred and thirty-one churches — 
that is, two hundred and seventeen more ministers than 
churches. In consequence of the secession of the "Pres- 
byterian Church South" in 1861, it was shown by the 
minutes of 1863 that the Old School had lost six hundred 
and fifty-four ministers and eleven hundred and forty 
churches. In referring to the minutes we find that in 
1863 to 1869 ^ increased in its ministers one hundred 
and seventy-six, and in its churches one hundred and 
ninety- four. The statistics of 1869 ^ or tnat y ear show 
the total number of ministers to have been two thousand 
three hundred and eighty-one, and of churches two thou- 
sand seven hundred and forty — that is, three hundred and 
fifty-two more churches than ministers. 



XLIX, 

The Reunion. 

Within a few years after the division took place great 
numbers of private members in both branches of the 
church began to look upon the separation as a misfortune 
to the cause and the progress of religion itself. These 
Presbyterians were willing and even desirous to let the 
harsh measures and bitter sayings of the past be for- 
gotten and to mutually condone the mistakes that had 
been made by both parties. Such was, undoubtedly, the 
undercurrent of the sentiment of reconciliation that began 
to pervade the thoughts of that class of church members, 
who took note of the developments and the influences at 
work in both divisions of the church. The wish for a 
reunion thus had its origin, but that wish became a long- 
ing desire, so earnest and effective as, at length, to accom- 
plish the hoped for end. The influence of fervent prayer 
and kindly sentiment reached both assemblies, and fra- 
ternal letters were interchanged), and when opportunity 
served they celebrated together the Lord's Supper. 

Preparing for Reunion. — For several years previous to 
the outbreak of the Civil War certain causes and their 
influence were evidently preparing the way for a reunion. 
Perhaps the more striking of these were the contrasts in 
conducting missions — foreign and home. The Old School 
stood upon an independent basis, having all the appliances 
for the work, and these had been utilized to advantage 
ever since the division. The New School, on the other 
hand, was not so happy in effective work ; it had no mis- 



THE REUNION. 48 1 

ilon fields of its own, and was unable to act independently, 
since it was hampered by being in connection with the 
voluntary societies. The association with the American 
Board was comparatively pleasant, but even in that was 
more or less friction. The troubles with the Home Mis- 
sionary Society had given those Presbyterians an earnest 
of the difficulties of conducting that particular phase of 
missions on the voluntary plan. These hindrances had 
taken a more decided form ever since the Albany Congre- 
gational Convention had in 1852 repudiated the plan of 
union, thereby manifesting a desire to discontinue the 
custom of conducting home missions in connection with 
the New-School body. This convention "brought Con- 
gregationalists East and West into a friendly acquaint- 
ance and sympathy, which had been lacking before." It 
resolved to discontinue the plan of union, giving as one 
reason for so doing, that "it had resulted in Presbyterian- 
izing hundreds of churches, out of New England, which 
might otherwise have been — and which in right should 
have been — Congregational." (Congregationalism, by 
Dexter, p. 516.) Among others, a similar reason — only 
the very reverse in substance — was given when the Gen- 
eral Assembly of 1837 abrogated the same plan (p. 
4.36) — namely, that Presbyterian churches were often 
Congregational ized by means of the plan of union. This 
and similar measures induced the true Presbyterians — 
those who accepted the theology of their standards and 
their church polity — and who were thus situated, to cher- 
ish their desire of union with the other branch. Technical 
theological questions of former days were held in abey- 
ance or deemed settled, while the differences that once 
loomed as very important, had now become non-essential 
in the minds of those who once were their most strenuous 
advocates. 

The Civil War. — While these Presbyterians were in 



482 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

this state of agitation came the Civil War. The exciting 
events connected with it drew aside the attention of the 
church members from the situation of the two branches, 
but toward its close we find the interest in reunion re- 
ceived a new impulse. This interest was indicated in the 
numerous letters that passed back and forth among the 
intelligent Presbyterians o<f both parties, who were in 
touch with the movements of the times — secular and re- 
ligious. The matter was often a subject of prayer in 
church meetings, and was often alluded to in the religious 
papers, and sometimes discussed at length. These inci- 
dents prepared the minds of the church members of both 
branches to hail with joy the movements toward a re- 
union, for which so many were praying. 

The unanimity with which the private members, with 
the elders and ministers of both branches, supported the 
National government in its efforts to maintain the Union 
intact, drew the parties together in sympathetic patriotism 
and from that standpoint the transition was easy for them 
to be drawn to still closer unity in church bonds, under 
one name and constitution. 

Renewed Difficulties. — For a year or two after the close 
of the war the New-School brethren had difficulties simi- 
lar to those which they had immediately preceding that 
event. In addition, that body was weakened by the with- 
drawal of some of its members, who took sides in theory 
at least with the Confederates, but in proportion this 
number was far inferior to that which withdrew for the 
same reason from the Old School. The New School, 
notwithstanding the excellent standing of its preachers 
and pastors and high scholarship of its professors, was 
relegated more than ever to a subordinate position in the 
management of the voluntary societies. The Congrega- 
tionalisms in exercising their inherent right were mean- 
while becoming more decidedly denominational in their 



THE REUNION. 483 

proceedings, especially in relation to the control of the 
Home Missionary Society, which had virtually become 
their recognized organ, rather than that of the combina- 
tion of the New-School Presbyterians and themselves. 

The Cry for Help. — As soon as the Rebellion collapsed 
the Presbyterian Church, now untrammeled, took note of 
the spiritual desolations of the country caused by the de- 
moralizing influence of that dismal war. In addition to 
the wants of the feeble churches on the frontiers came the 
freedmen crying for help, and thus presenting a new 
field for domestic missionary enterprise, and to that sphere 
of usefulness the Northern Presbyterians were instinct- 
ively drawn. These peculiar and new circumstances sug- 
gested numerous reasons for the union of the branches of 
the church, that thus united they might pursue their ap- 
propriate work with redoubled energy, stimulated by a 
sense of Christian duty and the cheering hope of success. 

The Committees on Reunion — The Basis. — The move- 
ment for reunion took a preliminary form in 1864 when a 
correspondence on the subject commenced and fraternal 
letters were exchanged; in 1866 both parties conjointly 
appointed a committee, which reported progress in 
1867. The movement continued until 1868, when both 
the assemblies united in appointing a Committee of Con- 
ference on the reunion of the two branches, which was to 
report to the assemblies of the next year. This action 
was only the exponent of the desire for reunion that had 
grown up in the hearts of the great mass of the church 
members of both branches. The question had penetrated 
their inner life, as was evidenced by the prayers that they 
offered to the Master to bring about the reunion. 

The two assemblies, the Old and the New School, met 
in New York City in May, 1869; the former in the Brick 
Church and the latter in the Church of the Covenant. The 
Committee of Conference appointed the previous year 



484 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

reported as follows: that it "shall be reunited as one 
Church under the name and style of the Presbyterian 
Church in the United States of America." . . . "The 
reunion shall be effected on the doctrinal and ecclesi- 
astical basis of our common standards; the Scriptures of 
the Old and the New Testaments shall be acknowledged 
to be the inspired word of God and the only infallible 
rule of faith and practice; the Confession of Faith shall 
continue to be sincerely received and adopted as contain- 
ing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures ; 
and the government and discipline of the Presbyterian 
Church in the United States shall be approved as contain- 
ing the principles and rules of our polity." 

The assemblies were to submit to their respective pres- 
byteries the Basis of Reunion; the latter were required to 
meet on or before Oct. 15, 1869, to express their ap- 
proval or disapproval, etc. Each presbytery was to trans- 
mit to the stated clerk of its assembly the result by the 
first day of November, 1869. 

Statistics. — According to the minutes of 1869 the Old 
School had one hundred and forty-three presbyteries, two 
thousand three hundred and eighty-one ministers, two 
thousand seven hundred and forty-nine churches, and 
two hundred and fifty-eight thousand nine hundred and 
three communicants; the New School had one hundred 
and eight presbyteries, sixteen hundred and ninety-four 
ministers, fourteen hundred and seventy-nine churches, 
and one hundred and forty-three thousand six hundred 
and forty-five communicants. 

The above numbers give in the aggregate the whole 
membership, at that time, of the united church, but as the 
synods and presbyteries of the two branches occupied the 
same territory and often overlapped one another, com- 
mittees were appointed by the assembly of 1870 to adjust 
that difficulty. The several adjustments thus made, of 



THE REUNION. 485 

necessity, diminished the number of the synods and also 
that of the presbyteries by blending them together. The 
report of these arrangements was made to the General 
Assembly of 187 1. According to the minutes of that year 
we find that the number of synods was thirty-five and 
of presbyteries one hundred and sixty-seven; ministers, 
four thousand three hundred and forty-six; churches, 
four thousand six hundred and sixteen; communicants, 
four hundred and forty-five thousand three hundred and 
seventy-eight; admitted on examination, twenty-seven 
thousand seven hundred and seventy. The union was 
thus completed. 

Woman's Work. — The assemblies of 1872 and 1873 
were marked by no special measures ; the machinery of the 
church being in perfect order its work prospered. The 
admissions to the church on examination during these 
two years were 55,456. The assembly of 1874 highly com- 
mended the" Woman's Missionary Associations," which had 
been formed within recent years, for their raising funds 
and promoting the cause, closing as follows : "There will 
be no watchword rallying a mightier force in all the land 
than that of "woman's work for woman through the 
whole world/' This is, if we mistake not, the first notice 
given by the assembly of the movement thus auspiciously 
begun by Presbyterian women, and which thus inaugur- 
ated that very important phase of missionary effort. In 
this connection it is worthy of mention that the "Nar- 
rative" of the assembly of 1877 also uses the following 
language in allusion to "women's work." "The daugh- 
ters, wives, and mothers of happy Christian homes are 
combining, all over the church, to give Christ and his 
love to all within their reach, and especially to the daugh- 
ters of sorrow and of heathenism. . . . !We rejoice 
in their good works and bid them God speed." 

Proffered Fraternity — Sabbath Respected. — The Gen- 



486 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

eral Assembly of 1875 received the report of a committee 
appointed the previous year to confer with a similar one 
from the "Assembly South." The design was "to secure 
closer fraternal relations between the two bodies." The 
committees met and discussed the subject very carefully. 
The report, after giving a summary of the discussions 
thus held, concludes in the following terms : "Your com- 
mittee regrets that they were disappointed in their own 
personal desire as well as that of the whole church, which 
they represent, to establish fraternal relations with the 
Assembly South on terms of mutual confidence and re- 
spect, Christian honor and love." The report was ac- 
cepted and the action of the commitee approved. 

The General Assembly of 1876, that being the year of 
the Centennial Exposition, expressed its sentiments on the 
subject of the latter being closed on the Sabbath, saying 
in a resolution : "Recognizing the constant and bountiful 
goodness of God to the people of the United States during 
the first century of the National Independence, record with 
satisfaction the fact that the commissioners having the ex- 
hibition in charge have decided by an emphatic vote to 
close its gates on the Lord's day." 

Synods Consolidated — The Discipline Revised. — The 
synods had so much increased that in numbers they ranged 
from six down to two in a single State. This increase 
was a matter of convenience in order to obviate the diffi- 
culties arising from the distance to be traveled by the 
delegates, since all the ministers and commissioned elders 
within their respective bounds were to meet in the synod 
in the same ratio as in the presbyteries. In response to 
overtures the General Assembly of 1881 took action on the 
subject, and passed an enabling act, directing the several 
synods in their respective States to be consolidated into 
one and bounded by the State lines. The synod was also 
made a representative body. The presbyteries took action 



THE REUNION. 487 

promptly, as was enjoined by the assembly; the result 
appeared in the minutes of 1882, in which the number of 
synods reported was twenty-three, instead of thirty-eight 
in those of the previous year. 

The subject of revision of the Book had been before 
two or three assemblies, and the report as to the action 
of the presbyteries upon the same having been adopted, 
the moderator of the assembly of 1884 formally an- 
nounced that "The Revised Book of Discipline with the 
Revision of Chapter X. of the Form of Government, had 
been adopted, and were now a part of the Constitution of 
the Church." 

Statistics of Spiritual Progress. — We may obtain a par- 
tial glimpse of the spiritual progress of the church for the 
time being by comparing four items in its history, say, 
for a period of ten years, namely, the increase of the 
number of communicants, and that of the admissions on 
examination; the attendance of Sunday-school scholars, 
and the amount of contributions. For illustration, the 
number of communicants, according to the minutes of the 
assembly of 1876, was 535,210, and in the same of 1886 
it was 661,809. 

The minutes of 1876 also show that during the pre- 
vious year were admitted on examination 48,240, which 
number in the latter year began to diminish gradually till 
it became only 20,196 in 1878, as recorded in the minutes 
of 1879, m which year the number commenced to in- 
crease, and thus continued till it reached 51,177 in 1886. 
It is proper to note that during this period were held the 
Centennial Exposition, and also two Presidential elec- 
tions. The interest taken in these two subjects, no doubt, 
interfered with the spiritual progress of the church mem- 
bers, and also allured the attention of the non-Christians 
from religious impressions. Again, a restful change came 
over the minds of the American people, when the long- 



488 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

continued anxiety and discussions in respect to financial 
affairs virtually came to an end on the resumption of 
specie payments on the first day of 1879 — was not this 
disturbed state of mind to a certain extent a hindrance to 
the reception of religious impressions? Be that as it 
may, the fact remains that the admissions to the church 
from the world on examination during the following 
ecclesiastical year exceeded those of the previous one by 
nearly 7000. 

On a similar line of illustration it is worthy of notice 
that during these ten years the increase in the attendance 
of Sunday-school scholars seemed to be unaffected, but 
was very uniform. In 1876 the attendance was 555,347, 
and in 1886 it was 743,518. In about the same ratio are the 
total contributions of the church in sustaining its various 
operations. In 1876 they were $9,810,223, in 1886 $10,- 
502,331. These sums include all the benevolences of the 
church and congregational expenses. The progress of 
domestic and foreign missions and the number of mis- 
sionaries employed increased in about the same ratio. It 
is not expedient in this connection to go into detail, and 
the reader is referred to the usual reports on the latter 
subjects. 

Thus in the absence of more definite data we obtain a 
partial conception of the inner Christian life of the church 
members. This life is often modified adversely by certain 
conditions, such as financial and industrial troubles and 
political agitation, and it behooves all, especially Christians, 
for more is expected of them, to labor in such manner as 
to remedy that class of evils, which under our govern- 
ment can be done by honest and intelligent voting. In this 
respect the Christian must not shirk his duty as a citizen, 
for in proportion to his influence in his own immediate 
community he is as responsible for the performance of 
such duty as the highest official in the land. 



THE REUNION. 489 

The Presbyterian Centennial. — The General Assembly 
of 1886 at Minneapolis appointed a committee of arrange- 
ments for the centennial celebration of the organization 
of the first General Assembly, that of 1788. By resolu- 
tion the churches, the presbyteries, and the synods were 
enjoined to collect facts of their respective histories, 
which were to be ready by the autumn meetings of the 
presbyteries and synods. They were to forward these 
historical publications "two copies to the stated clerk of 
the General Assembly, and to the Presbyterian Historical 
Society, respectively." Each of the boards of the church 
were directed to prepare a brief account of their "History 
and Outlook/' and also during the years 1887-8, special 
contributions were to be made for the work of the church, 
as specified. 

In addition, a fraternal letter was written to the General 
Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church, then in 
session in Augusta, Georgia, most cordially inviting their 
branch to unite with the Northern, in Philadelphia, in 1888, 
celebrating the centennial anniversary "of the organization 
of the General Assembly at Philadelphia in 1788 (see p. 
20/). A committee was also appointed to arrange the 
method and plan of such cooperation." Favorable re- 
plies having been received from the Southern Church, the 
assembly of 1887 took measures to have a programme of 
the celebration prepared, in which the subjects of the 
orations and the speakers of the same were mutually 
agreed upon and equally divided. 

According to the programme laid down by the con- 
ference committees addresses appropriate to the occasion 
were made on May 24th by delegates from the Southern 
and the Northern branches of the church. These ad- 
dresses were comprehensive in their scope, taking in the 
numerous phases of the great subject in hand. We have 
not room for even the headings of the topics discussed by 
33 



490 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

the many speakers. The spirit of piety and a patriotism 
molded by Christian principles, that pervaded these ad- 
dresses, cheered the hearts of those who heard them, and 
when published, their beneficent influence was recog- 
nized throughout the church. The display of genuine 
learning in treating these various subjects was grand, and 
may be taken as an indication of the scholarship and the 
training of the speakers, ministers as well as laymen. The 
Presbyterian polity stimulates intelligent Christian lay- 
men to take an interest, and even diligently study the 
workings of the system, inasmuch as they are often called 
upon as representatives of the church members, to have a 
share in the discussions and actions of all the boards and 
the judicatures of the church. 

iOhurch Periodical — Seminaries. — The assembly of 
1888, adopting the suggestions of the committee who had 
the matter in charge, established the magazine The 
Church at Home and Abroad, which was intended to sup- 
ersede the other church periodicals, and of itself represent 
all the boards of the assembly. 

This assembly, also, through its standing committee ex- 
pressed itself as "glad to see that our seminaries, as espe- 
cially shown by the reports of Princeton and Union, employ 
their students in active work in Sunday-schools and 
among the poor and neglected. Such practical engage- 
ment of time and effort must contribute largely toward a 
preparation for successful labor and properly balance 
the retirement of the class-room and cloister," or private 
study. 

As an evidence of progress it was reported to the as- 
sembly of 1889 that the gifts of the church members for 
the support and spread of the gospel during a period of 
ten years, advanced from an average of $ 14.37 P er mem ~ 
ber in 1879 to $ I 775 in 1889— a §" ain of $3-38 per mem- 
ber or 23.5 per cent. Meantime "the purely benevolent 



THE REUNION. 49 1 

contributions to our boards and like agencies of evan- 
gelism," have advanced from $3.39 per member in 1879 
to $5.56 in 1889, a gain of $2.17 per member or 64 per 
cent." 

Revision Desired. — The committee on methods of ef- 
fecting revisions in the Confession of Faith and the Con- 
stitution of the Church, that was appointed by the as- 
sembly of 1887, and continued by the assemblies of 1888 
and 1889, was now enlarged in 1890 and continued. The 
assembly of 1889 had sent down to the presbyteries an 
overture in the words: First: "Do you desire a revision 
of the Confession of Faith?" The answer was yes by 
134 presbyteries out of 213. Second: "If so, in what re- 
spects, and to what extent?" The answer to the latter 
question opened up a wide range for discussion. In con- 
sequence of the differences of opinion on the subject 
expressed by the presbyteries, the assembly deemed it ex- 
pedient to appoint a committee on revision of the Con- 
fession of Faith. This committee consisted of fifteen min- 
isters and ten elders. It was enjoined to consider the 
answers to questions number two, and "formulate and 
report to the assembly of 1891, such alterations to the 
Confession of Faith as in their judgment may be deemed 
desirable." This committee was unable to make a full 
report to the assembly of 1891, which met in Detroit, and 
it, also, was continued. 

The assembly of 1892 met in May of that year at Port- 
land, Oregon. It adopted an official seal, and for a de- 
vice "an open Bible upon a circular field." 

This assembly took note of the disposition of the 
amounts of money paid by Congress to Roman Catholic 
schools for Indians. The latter, alone, having obtained 
in round numbers 400,000 dollars of the 600,000 appro- 
priated for all the denominations combined {Minutes, p. 
45). It also condemned the principle of the general gov- 



492 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

ernment appropriating money to sectarian schools. It 
manifested much interest in the home missions pertaining 
to the mountaineers in Kentucky, Tennessee, and North 
Carolina, and the two Virginias. The committee on the 
Confession of Faith reported progress. 




Rev. Edward Robinson, D. D., LL. D. 

(493-497-) 



L. 



Presbyterian Worthies. 

Professor Edward Robinson, D.D., LL.D., son of Rev. 
William Robinson, was born in Southington, Connecticut, 
April 10, 1794, of Puritan ancestry, which in church af- 
fairs is traced back to 1636. His mother, Elizabeth Nor- 
ton, a lady of fine education, was a sister of Professor 
Seth Norton of Hamilton College. On her dying bed 
she sent to her son Edward, who was absent, a charac- 
teristic message, urging him "to do as much good as he 
could in the world." His father was under the necessity 
of cultivating a farm, and during his boyhood Edward 
thus worked, and also for a while in a country store. In 
school he ranked high as a scholar, a devourer of books 
and of untiring industry in search of knowledge, mani- 
festing in his boyhood characteristics for which he was 
afterward noted, sound moral principles, kindly disposi- 
tion, cautiousness in his decisions and accuracy in his 
studies. We give an incident. When a boy away from 
home at school, great excitement arose because of the 
appearance of smallpox in the neighborhood ; Edward ob- 
tained some of the virus of cow-pox, took it home, and 
successfully vaccinated the whole family. 

We find him at the age of eighteen in the Freshman 
class in Hamilton College, where he soon took position 
at the head of his class in every branch of study. Gradu- 
ating in four years, he commenced the study of law in 
18 17, but soon gave that up to accept a more congenial 
work of tutor in mathematics and Greek in Hamilton 



494 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

College. Three years later, in 182 1, he went to Andover, 
Mass., to superintend the publication of his first book, 
an edition of eleven books of the "Iliad." Here under 
the influence of Professor Moses Stuart he commenced 
the study of Hebrew in which his progress was so rapid 
that in less than a year and a half he was appointed in- 
structor in Hebrew in the seminary, which position he 
filled for three years with great acceptance. During this 
period he studied theology and was licensed to preach, 
but afterward preferred to devote himself to sacred schol- 
arship. Resigning his position in the seminary he sailed 
for Europe in order to perfect himself in his chosen 
studies. He spent nearly three years at Halle and Berlin 
in assiduous study. He had the privilege of numbering 
among his intimate friends eminent professors in these 
universities, such as Gesenius, Tholuck, and Roediger in 
Halle, and Ritter and Neander in Berlin. In 1828 he 
married Miss Therese Albertine Louise von Jacob, daugh- 
ter of Professor von Jacob of the University of Halle. 
This lady already held a high position in the literary 
world of Germany because of her original writings and 
translations, especially of "Servian Popular Songs." In 
1829 Dr. Robinson returned to the United States, and 
soon after was appointed Professor Extraordinary of 
Sacred Literature at Andover. 

We will anticipate, somewhat, in the order of time. Dr. 
Robinson published a number of books in his line of 
study, whose titles we need not give. Of these the most 
important in their influence were the translation of the 
"Hebrew Latin Lexicon" of Gesenius, and his own Greek 
"Lexicon of the New Testament." The former in a 
number of revised editions, the last in 1854, and the latter 
in 1850. The one was a boon to the students of Hebrew, 
and gave an increased impulse to that study in the theo- 
logical seminaries of different Protestant denominations 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES. 495 

in the Union; while the other was equally influential in 
promoting the study of New Testament Greek. Mean- 
while he published a "Greek Harmony of the Gospels," 
and also established the "Biblical Repository" in 1831, 
and afterward, in 1843, tne "Bibliotheca Sacra." He him- 
self, at first, writing a majority of the articles. 

Dr. Robinson's theory was that, in order to obtain viv- 
idly the precise meaning of the Holy Scriptures, they 
must be studied in the tongues in which they were origin- 
ally written. To do this properly required the knowledge 
and appreciation of the surroundings, natural and his- 
torical, amid which their authors wrote. His strong de- 
sire, therefore, was to raise the standard of Biblical learn- 
ing to as high a grade as possible. As a teacher he was 
strenuous in having the lessons prepared carefully; to 
shirk such preparation was in his eyes not a venial offense. 
When a boy he chided a younger brother, who was idling 
at his study, with the remark: "That the loss of a min- 
ute is just so much loss of life." In recitations, he never 
took his class in regular order, but skipped here and 
there, and if any one asked to be excused for not being 
prepared he was sure to be called upon next day, and if 
he then made it evident that he had neglected his duty, 
he was quietly called upon at the the next recitation, and 
so on till he gave evidence that he had prepared himself 
properly. 

After declining professorships elsewhere, Dr. Robin- 
son accepted in 1837 that of Biblical Literature in Union 
Theological Seminary in New York City, then recently 
founded. This acceptance was with the understanding 
that after delivering a preliminary course of lectures he 
should have leave of absence to visit Palestine, in order, 
as he expressed it, "To collect materials for a systematic 
work on the physical and historical geography of the 
Holy Land." The results of these labors were published 



496 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

under the title, "Biblical Researches." They at once were 
accepted as a standard authority, and as such were quoted 
by French, German, American, and English authors; of 
the last, Dean Stanley is the most prominent. The dean 
in his work on "Sinai," says that he found only two state- 
ments in the "Researches" which subsequent investiga- 
tion proved to be somewhat inaccurate. 

The first edition was published simultaneously in Bos- 
ton, London, and Halle in 1841 — Mrs. Robinson having 
translated the work into German as its writing was fin- 
ished. In 1852 Dr. Robinson revisited Palestine, and 
was thus enabled to bring out a revised edition in 1856. 
The publication of the "Biblical Researches" took the in- 
telligent religious world by surprise, and directed the at- 
tention of Biblical scholars to the importance of the sub- 
ject, and also enlisted in the same cause numbers of well 
read Christian laymen. The "Biblical Researches" had 
influence in suggesting the formation of three associa- 
tions for the purpose of exploring Palestine — one in Eng- 
land, one in Germany, and one in the United States — the 
expenses are borne by the subscriptions of those inter- 
ested in the cause. These associations — except the 
American — are still (1899) engaged in the work, which 
has already thrown so much light on portions of the Bible 
in the identification of the sites of places mentioned, as 
well as on the general topography of the Holy Land, 
Says an eminent writer: "Edward Robinson created out 
of nothing the study of Biblical geography." More work 
has been done in Biblical history since 1835 than in all 
the previous centuries combined." {Study of Holy Scrip- 
ture, p. 508.) i 

The manifold benefits conferred upon the church at 
large, and especially upon the Presbyterian branch, by 
Dr. Robinson, were in two forms of influence — the one by 
means of his lexicons, giving a new impulse to the study 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES. 497 

of the Old and! New Testaments in their original tongues ; 
the other, by his Biblical researches, to the study of Bible 
history, by ascertaining the conditions under which it 
was written, and thus aiding in the elucidation of its 
truths, historical statements, and allusions. 

Incessant labor impaired Dr. Robinson's strong con- 
stitution. He once said to the writer, whose privilege it 
was to be one of his pupils, "The continual pressure of 
work for years is wearing me out." On January 27, 1863, 
the Master called him home, in his sixty-ninth year. 

Rev. Dr. Philip Lindsley richly deserves mention 
among the worthies of the Presbyterian Church. A na- 
tive of New Jersey, of English Presbyterian ancestry, 
born December 21, 1786; a graduate of Princeton, 1804; 
studied theology, meanwhile engaged in teaching; was 
licensed to preach in 18 10 by the presbytery of New 
Brunswick, and in 1817 was ordained sine titulo by the 
same authority. His unusually fine scholarship and aptness 
in giving instruction were recognized and appreciated 
by his first being appointed tutor in his Alma Mater, and 
then promoted to the Professorship of Languages (1813), 
and soon after elected Vice-president of the college; a 
vacancy having occurred, he was acting President for 
one year (1822). 

During these intervening years he was twice elected to 
the Presidency of Transylvania University, Kentucky, 
and also virtually to that of the University of Ohio at 
Athens; and twice to that of Cumberland College, at 
Nashville, Tennessee, and twice elected President of 
Princeton, and refused to consider overtures in respect 
to the Presidency of Dickinson College. 

Dr. Lindsley declined these honorable positions, espe- 
cially the Presidency of his Alma Mater, that he might 
enter upon a new and very important sphere of usefulness 
in the Southwest. In that region, unfortunately, the 



498 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

conditions in respect to classical and the higher grades 
of education were such as to call for the aid of a man of 
high standing, both as to scholarship and to experience 
as an instructor. 

At this point (1823) was again presented the claims of 
Cumberland College as an important center of influence 
— the latter phase of the subject induced Dr. Lindsley to 
visit the city of Nashville. After surveying the field he 
consented to enter it by accepting the Presidency of Cum- 
berland College, whose corporate name was changed the 
following year to Nashville University. 

In entering upon this important field of usefulness Dr. 
Lindsley's "purpose was to build up a great university that 
should be to the South and West what Harvard, Yale, 
and Princeton were to the North and East. His plans 
were large, his conceptions were noble, and he did his part 
to realize them — that he partially failed was no fault 
of his." We cannot in this connection go into 
detail, only to state that the promise of an ample endow- 
ment was never realized; yet notwithstanding this draw- 
back, Dr. Lindsley labored on assiduously, and under the 
circumstances accomplished an immense amount of good 
on the line of a generous and liberal education, whose 
benign influence is felt to-day in the Southwest. 

Nashville was then quite a center of Presbyterian in- 
fluence. The culture and refinement of its leading citizens 
were proverbial, numbers of whom were thrifty merchants 
and others owned plantations further South. It was the 
capital of the State, and was also noted for its seminaries 
for the education of young women. 

Dr. Lindsley was inaugurated President of the college 
with imposing ceremonies on January 12, 1825. His bril- 
liant address on that occasion was regarded as eminently 
replete with judicious ideas suitable to the occasion and 
to the educational conditions of the times and in that sec- 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES. 499 

tion of the Union. Here for twenty-five years his great in- 
fluence was extended by means of his numerous addresses, 
and his well-trained students who went forth from year 
to year. The members of the scholarly faculty of the uni- 
versity were of his own choosing, and under his inspira- 
tion they acted in sympathy with him in zealously promot- 
ing the cause of education and good morals among the 
students. Thus in that region was given an impulse to 
classical learning by raising its standard, and also to that 
of other departments of knowledge. In due time these 
influences reached the intelligent and the younger por- 
tions of both sexes of the citizens of that beautiful city. 

The General Assembly of the church when in session in 
Philadelphia in 1834 by a unanimous vote chose Dr. 
Lindsley its moderator. 

Dr. Lindsley saw just cause in the financial troubles to 
which the university was subjected to present his resig- 
nation as its President in October, 1850. He was after- 
ward for three years professor of "Ecclesiastical Polity 
and Biblical Archaeology" in the Presbyterian Theological 
Seminary at New Albany, Indiana. After retiring from 
the latter institution "the remaining two years of his life 
were spent chiefly in study, devotion, and intercourse 
with friends." The Master called him home suddenly 
on May 23, 1855, * n ms beloved Nashville, whither he 
had come as a commissioner to the General Assembly. 

Rev. Charles Hodge, D.D., LL.D., born in Philadel- 
phia, December 28, 1797; graduate of Princeton, 181 5; 
professor of Theology in Princeton Seminary in 1822. 
Author of "Commentaries on Romans, Corinthians, and 
Ephesians." Founder of the Princeton Review, through 
which he exerted a great influence for good; every im- 
portant movement in the religious world he carefully no- 
ticed and fairly criticized, commending cordially when he 
approved and condemning conscientiously when he did 



500 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

not ; but by no means in an arbitrary manner, always giv- 
ing his reasons as drawn from the storehouse of his 
learning. His influence over his students was almost un- 
bounded. 

He wrote among a number of other works "A Con- 
stitutional History of the Presbyterian Church in the 
United States," but the crowning and most elaborately 
constructed of his writings is his "Systematic Theology." 
The latter, the outcome of more than a half century of 
careful study and teaching in the class-room. He died 
June 19, 1878, at the close of an unbroken professorship 
of fifty-six years. 

Rev. William Adams, D.D., LL.D., born in Colchester, 
Connecticut, in 1807; a graduate of Yale, 1827, and of 
Andover Theological Seminary, 1830. His father, Dr. 
John Adams, was principal of Phillips Academy, And- 
over, thus his youthful surroundings were of educated 
persons. After being a pastor, elsewhere, for some years, 
he was invited to New York City in 1834 to take charge 
of a Presbyterian church in Broome street, and afterward 
in 1853 he became pastor of the then recently formed 
church on Madison Square, where at this writing it is 
a power for usefulness under the ministry of Rev. Charles 
H. Parkhurst. 

For forty years he was a most efficient pastor, being 
reckoned among "the foremost preachers of his time;" 
of progressive instincts, he was an earnest advocate of 
every good work; broad in his views, he took an interest 
in the affairs of both church and state. In 1852 he was 
moderator of the General Assembly of the New School 
branch, and afterward an earnest advocate of the re- 
union of the church in 1870. Innately courteous, he took 
his congregation into his confidence, and always treated 
them, even when discussing an abstract question, as 
though they knew as much as himself, and he was merely 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES. 501 

reminding them of the different phases of the subject in 
hand. 

He was chosen President of Union Seminary in New 
York, and also appointed to the chair of sacred rhetoric 
in that institution in 1873. I* 1 which office and professor- 
ship, by his magnetism and sympathy with young men, 
he exerted a most beneficent influence over the students, 
and thus indirectly in the church. Says Professor Ros- 
well D. Hitchcock: "The administration of Dr. Adams 
came upon us like a burst of sunshine. . . . The 
whole institution was toned up. Professors and students, 
equally and all, felt the magnetism of his courtly and 
stimulating presence. On all public occasions he was our 
ornament and pride. In all the dry details of our daily, 
weekly, and monthly routine of work he was a model 
of punctuality, precision, and thoroughness. He pos- 
sessed in an eminent degree what I will venture to call the 
institutional instinct and habit. Of fifty years of signal 
service, the last seven had been the golden autumn of his 
life." The Master released him from his earthly labors, 
August 31, 1880, in the seventy- third year of his age. 
(The Union Theological Seminary, pp. 87, 88.) 

Rev. Henry Boynton Smith, D.D., LL.D., was born in 
Portland, Maine, in 1815; a graduate of Bowdoin College, 
1834; studied theology in Andover, Halle, and Berlin. 
Honored in Germany as a man of superior intellect and 
scholarship. While pastor in the vicinity he was in- 
structor in Hebrew in Andover Seminary; then pro- 
fessor of Mental and Moral Philosophy in Amherst Col- 
lege; then, 1850, of Church History in Union Seminary, 
and afterward, in 1853, of Systematic Theology in the 
same institution. In the latter professorship he re- 
mained till his resignation because of impaired health, 
January, 1874; he was, however, made Professor Emeri- 
tus, and Lecturer on Apologetics. 



Ikfe 



502 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

It is worthy of note that the experience and knowledge 
derived, personally, in giving instruction in the class of 
subjects pertaining, respectively, to his previous profes- 
sorships, were available as a preparation for that of the- 
ology. He was the author of several monographs, all of 
which related to History in its moral aspects, as applied to 
church matters and theology. "The historic spirit which 
characterized him has ever since been characteristic of 
Union Seminary." Unfortunately, his impaired health, and, 
we may say, premature death, precluded a consecutive and 
perfect summary of his views on these varied and impor- 
tant subjects, as molded by himself into a uniform system, 
He has been characterized "the gifted, learned, and in- 
spiring teacher," "he had brilliant scholarship, a fervid 
and deeply spiritual nature, a gentle and winning dis- 
position." His students could preach the theology which 
they learned from him. The theological views of Pro- 
fessor H. B. Smith are more quoted with approbation 
by theologians and pastors in the different evangelical 
denominations than those of any recent theological writer. 
Professor Archibald A. Hodge of Princeton "declared 
Professor H. B. Smith to be the greatest theologian of 
the American Presbyterian Church." ( Vol. VI., Ch. Hist., 
p. 130.) He was released from his earthly labors Feb- 
ruary, 1877, in the sixty-second year of his age. 

Rev. Robert Jefferson Breckinridge, D.D., born in 1800 
in Kentucky; studied and practised law for some years. 
Meanwhile, a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church, 
he turned his attention to theology, which he studied pri- 
vately. Afterward, for thirteen years was pastor of the 
First Presbyterian Church in Baltimore. He took a 
prominent part in the division of the Church in 1837. 
{See pp. 374, 387.) President of Jefferson College 
(1845-1847), but notwithstanding his great mental abil- 
ity, it was a sphere of labor for which he was not perfectly 




Rev. Henry Boynton Smith, D. D., LL. D. 
(501, 502.) 



■ri^BB^MMH 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES. 503 

qualified, simply because of his lack of experience in 
teaching. Then Professor of Theology in Danville Semi- 
nary (1853). 

Nearly thirty years before the Civil War, when it re- 
quired sterling courage to oppose the system of slavery 
in his native State, Dr. Breckinridge ever stood firm in 
his convictions of its enormous injustice to the slave and 
its injurious influence on the slave-owner, characterizing 
it as "utterly indefensible on every correct human prin- 
ciple, and utterly abhorrent from the law of God." 

A strong Union man during the Civil War, he exerted 
a determined and commanding influence to preserve the 
integrity of the Nation. In duty bound, he took an in- 
tense interest in the public affairs of that trying period, 
especially in his native State. He was an influential 
member of the Republican Convention which nominated 
Mr. Lincoln for a second term. His crowning efforts for 
good, however, were made after the close of the Rebellion, 
when he became a most energetic and efficient advocate 
in aiding the National government to introduce the com- 
mon school system into his native Kentucky, which, like 
the other slave-labor States, never had public schools simi- 
lar to those within the free-labor States, until thus estab- 
lished. 

Rev. William Greenough Thayer Shedd, D.D., LL.D., 
was born in Massachusetts, 1820; a graduate of the Uni- 
versity of Vermont and of Andover Seminary; professor 
of English literature in his Alma Mater; then of Rhetoric 
and Pastoral Theology in Auburn Seminary; then of 
Ecclesiastical History in Andover, and when collegiate 
pastor with Dr. Gardiner Spring, of the historic Brick 
Church in New York, was elected in 1863 professor of 
Biblical Literature in Union Seminary of that city, and 
afterward, in 1874, transferred to the chair of Systematic 
Theology. In consequence of impaired health he retired 



504 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

from active duty, but was retained by the directors in the 
service of the institution as Professor Emeritus. His 
earthly labors were finished in 1894. 

Dr. Shedd was the author of a number of valuable 
works, one of which was very important, "The History of 
Christian Doctrine," and last of all, "Systematic The- 
ology." Says a writer : "As a theologian, Dr. Shedd is 
regarded as developing the sterner elements of Calvinism 
more fully than is common in recent years." 

Dr. Shedd was a Calvinist of the extreme type and 
held rigidly at all points to that system. He was greatly 
admired and beloved by his students, his high character 
and kindly spirit commanding their respect and esteem, 
and his clear-cut logical style making his lectures always 
intellectually attractive, but the majority of those under 
his instructions found themselves unable to accept all his 
conclusions, though they never ceased to prize the valu- 
able philosophical training he gave them. 

Another class of Presbyterian worthies deserve a pass- 
ing notice, because of their influence on the inner Chris- 
tian life of the church. They are termed evangelists. 
Pastors have sometimes resigned their charges in order 
to engage in that form of work as a sphere of greater 
usefulness. To perform that class of duties properly re- 
quires in those who thus labor special qualifications ; such 
as fervid piety, a marked familiarity with the Scriptures, 
that on the occasion they may promptly and aptly apply 
their truths and illustrations; practical wisdom and tact 
in conducting the services, especially in connection with 
settled pastors. Their efforts are often confined to a 
single church or neighborhood, and only for a limited 
time. One drawback occurs to these efforts, when they 
are not supplemented after the evangelist has departed 
by the continuous exertions of the church members them- 
selves, and of the pastor. The labors of this class of 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES. 505 

ministers are very often blessed in a remarkable manner 
in leading sinners to the Saviour, and in stimulating 
Christian professors to greater zeal for the salvation of 
men. 

We have room for the notice of only one of this class 
of worthies. Rev. Daniel Baker, D.D., who was blessed 
with a pious parentage, which very likely were Puritan 
(see p. 276), was born in Midway, Georgia, August 17, 
1 79 1. An entire Puritan congregation in 1754 moved 
from near Charleston, S. C, to Midway. He became a 
Christian at the age of fifteen. Dr. Moses Hoge urged 
him to study for the ministry. He entered Hampden- 
Sidney College in 181 1, but afterward went to Princeton, 
where he graduated in 18 15. When he first entered the 
latter institution only six of his fellow-students — about 
one hundred and fifty in number — were professing Chris- 
tians; two of these he persuaded to join him in a daily 
prayer-meeting. They for a time were subjects of ridicule 
by some of their fellow-students, but ere long their pray- 
ers were answered, and a gracious outpouring of the Holy 
Spirit came in such power that in a revival which fol- 
lowed, about fifty of the students were brought to Christ ; 
twenty of whom were afterward preachers of the gospel. 

Mr. Baker studied theology and when licensed, began 
to preach with great fervor and with corresponding suc- 
cess in securing conversions from the world. Thus he 
labored for three or four years, having in charge two con- 
gregations in Virginia, but in 1822 he was installed pastor 
of the Second Presbyterian Church in Washington City. 
Among the prominent men who attended his church were 
Presidents John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson; 
they both encouraged and cheered the young clergyman 
with many marks of their appreciation. Great pressure 
induced him to remove from Washington to Savannah, 
Georgia, and become pastor of an independent Presby- 
34 



506 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

terian church in that city. Here his labors were marvel- 
ously blessed, his congregation, numbering about fifteen 
hundred, appeared to enjoy an almost continuous revival. 
Dr. Baker has been characterized as a "man of one book — 
the Bible; one idea, the salvation of souls, and one occu- 
pation, the proclamation of the gospel." Moved by the 
impression that it was his duty to give his services to the 
church at large, as an evangelist, he resigned his pastorate 
in 1826, in order to devote himself to that phase of Chris- 
tian work. 

Dr. Baker was remarkably judicious in his treatment 
of the non-professors as well of the professors of religion. 
Numerous instances are recorded of his tact in meeting 
questions that were sometimes put to him, perhaps, with 
a tinge of irony. Once a lady, a great favorite in society, 
because of her attractiveness and accomplishments, 
but not a Christian, tzvitted him with being partial in 
holding special meetings for his dear members, but not, 
said she, for us poor sinners. He promptly answered, 
"Suppose I call a meeting for you poor sinners; would 
you come?" "Yes I will," was the prompt reply. The 
following Sabbath he announced a meeting for the un- 
converted, alone. Having spent in prayer the forenoon 
of the day appointed for the meeting, what was his 
surprise when he reached the lecture-room to find it 
crowded ! The outcome was many conversions, among 
whom was the lady who spoke to him on the subject. 
On another occasion, when making an appeal for mis- 
sions in Texas, one man in his presence remarked, "I 
can give five dollars, and not feel it/' Dr. Baker said 
to him : "Suppose, my brother, you give- twenty dollars 
and feel it. Your Saviour felt what he did for you." 
The man was ever after a liberal giver. 

In his preaching tours he traveled extensively in the 
Northern and also in the Western States, and was listened 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES. 507 

to by thousands upon thousands in the churches of all 
evangelical denominations, and his labors were wonderfully 
blessed. He labored specially for some years in Ken- 
tucky and in Mississippi ; but his greatest work was done 
within the recently formed republic of Texas; thither he 
went in 1838, and therein he labored to the end. The 
peculiar circumstances under which that republic had 
originated attracted him thither as a very important field 
of usefulness. He assisted in constituting the Presby- 
tery of Brazos (1840), the first in that region, and before 
Texas was annexed to the United States. 

This presbytery, in the line of its traditions, resolved to 
found a college that should be under Presbyterian in- 
fluence. It imposed upon Dr. Baker the labor of obtain- 
ing funds for that purpose, and the result was the found- 
ing of the present flourishing institution known as Austin 
College. He made six separate tours in portions of the 
Southern and of Northern States, appealing principally 
to Presbyterians for funds, but preaching whenever he 
had an opportunity. It is estimated that on his last tour 
which extended for eight months, seven hundred persons 
were led to accept the Saviour; their first convictions 
being induced by his eloquent presentation of the plan of 
salvation. 

He had directed that his epitaph should be "A preacher 
of the gospel — a sinner saved by grace." The end came 
December, 1857. When the news of his death reached the 
State capital the Legislature was in session, and at once 
both branches adjourned out of respect to his memory, 
and to hear eulogies on his patriotic and Christian char- 
acter, while the citizens of the capital exhibited equally 
their sympathy in the loss the people of the State had sus- 
tained. 

Rev. Henry Little, D.D., takes rank, virtually as an 
evangelist, but also more especially as a superintendent 



508 a history of the Presbyterian church. 

of Home Missions. He was born March 30, 1800, in 
Boscawen, New Hampshire; the son of a farmer, he 
labored as such in his early life, but in his boyish days 
had a desire to become a minister. His religious life 
seems to have commenced when he was quite young, and 
during his youth and upward was remarkable for his 
active Christian work and the good influence which he 
exerted over his friends and college-mates. He inher- 
ited a vigorous constitution from his stalwart Puritan 
ancestry, and which was strengthened in his youth by 
healthful labor and exercise in a bracing climate amid the 
hills of his native State. An active and temperate mode 
of living in after years preserved his health and pro- 
longed his life to beyond four score. 

At the age of seventeen he began to teach school during 
the winter months, and at twenty commenced to prepare 
for college; graduated in 1826 at Dartmouth, the second 
in scholarship in a class of thirty-six ; studied theology at 
Andover, was licensed to preach, and afterward ordained 
in 1829 in Park Street Church, Boston, with fifteen other 
young men, all of whom designed to become missionaries, 
either in their native land or in the foreign field. 

Having spent one year as agent for the American 
Educational Society, we find him in 183 1 pastor of the 
Presbyterian church in Oxford, Ohio, the seat of Miami 
University. Modest and unassuming, yet energetic in 
the performance of duty, his symmetrical character as 
preacher and pastor elicited the admiration of all, and 
the love of those who knew him more intimately. Says 
Rev. Dr. D. W. Fisher: "I doubt whether a more useful 
minister of the gospel has lived in our country during the 
period covered by his [ministerial] life, but of what he 
had done he seldom spoke, unless he was compelled to 
do so by some direct inquiry." 

Dr. Little was most earnestly urged by the officers 



PRESBYTERIAN WORTHIES. 509 

and friends of the American Home Missionary Society 
to become their Western Secretary or agent. This posi- 
tion he accepted and entered upon its duties in April, 
1833. To the labors of this office he devoted all his 
energies and with great success in that very important 
field of mission work. For twenty-eight years he thus 
labored, till 1869, when he became connected with the 
Presbyterian Board of Home Missions. With that or- 
ganization he was connected for thirteen years, when the 
Master called him home on February 25, 1882, in his 
eighty-third year. 

We of this day have only a faint conception of the 
difficulties which at that time had to be overcome in 
superintending a field of missions, so vast as to include 
the States in the peninsula between the rivers Ohio and 
Mississippi; Kentucky and Tennessee on the south and 
Missouri on the West. Dr. Little traveled from place to 
place, often preaching by the way, over this extensive 
territory wherever he was specially needed in directing 
the work. 

Changes manifestly for the better in the material and 
moral condition of the inhabitants of these States had 
been going on for a generation or more {pp. 377, 378) 
when Dr. Little entered upon his life's work. Owing to 
better facilities for travel and transportation an unusual 
impulse had already been given to migrations of many 
thousands annually from the older States to the great 
Central valley. These energetic and progressive Ameri- 
cans, mostly young married people, had been accustomed 
in their native homes to churches and common schools, 
all of which they had left to found settlements and homes 
for themselves and their families in this land of promise. 
There were also others who came in untold multitudes 
from foreign lands ; some ignorant of the Bible and priest- 
ridden, others speaking a different language, and with 



5IO A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

views more or less antagonistic, especially to the Ameri- 
can mode of Sabbath observance, and indeed often to the 
Christian institutions of the land. His work, through 
the ministry of the gospel by means of home missions, 
was to mould this miscellaneous crowd of foreigners 
and native born into a homogeneous Christian civiliza- 
tion. As a collateral sphere of influence and usefulness, 
he was a sturdy friend of the common schools, which 
he also labored to introduce and to elevate their stand- 
ard of scholarship. 

For more than a half a century, even unto the end of 
his life, Dr. Little was blessed with a most devoted wife 
— Susan Norton Smith — who was finely educated and 
refined, and who entered heart and soul into all his plans 
and sustained him in his years of toil. At his death, of 
his eight children, he bequeathed to the church four of 
his sons as ministers and one daughter, the wife a clergy- 
man. 



LI. 

The Trials of Professor Charles A. Briggs. 

The author enters with many misgivings upon the nar- 
rative of the several ecclesiastical trials of Dr. Briggs; he 
realizes the unusual difficulties that present themselves in 
treating the subject and its several phases in such manner 
as to satisfy all parties. It is designed to give concisely 
the salient and essential points of the charges made and 
in a similar manner the replies thereto. The reader will 
please notice that when quotations are given, reference is 
made to the page whence taken, that their accuracy may 
be verified. The design has also been to make the narra- 
tive as concise as truth and justice would permit. The 
memory of these trials still lingers in the minds of those 
private members of the Presbyterian Church and likewise 
of many outsiders, who at the time took an intelligent 
interest in the several proceedings; scanned the charges 
and the arguments used to sustain them, and also the re- 
plies thereto, of the Professor, and thus they became able 
to form definite opinions on the subject. 

In respect to the various charges and specifications 
connected therewith, and the discussions of the doctrines 
involved, and also Scriptural interpretation, the author 
has endeavored to be concise, though not at the expense 
of clearness. It is noteworthy that these trials, because 
of the questions thus brought into notice, elicited unusual 
attention in Christian circles, which continues at this writ- 
ing, not merely among intelligent members of the Pres- 
byterian Church, but likewise among the similar class 



512 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

in other denominations — all being equally and deeply in- 
terested in the interpretation of the Bible. 

The Professorship Founded. — The late Charles Butler, 
LL.D., a highly respected and benevolent gentleman of 
New York City, and President of the Board of Directors 
of Union Theological Seminary, donated $100,000 to 
found a professorship of Biblical Theology in that in- 
stitution. This was named the Edward Robinson pro- 
fessorship in honor of that eminent Biblical scholar. 

The Outline of Study. — The course of studies to be 
pursued in that professorship was distinctive, and may be 
partially learned from the following brief outline. "Bib- 
lical theology takes a comprehensive grasp of the Bible 
as a whole in the unity and variety of the sum of its 
teachings . . . aiming to limit itself to the theology 
of the Bible itself — the only infallible authority." Again, 
"Biblical theology makes no selection of texts — it uses 
the entire Bible in all its passages, and in every single 
passage, giving each its place and importance in the un- 
folding of divine revelation. To Biblical theology the 
Bible is a mine of untold wealth; treasures new and old 
are in its storehouses; all its avenues lead in one way or 
another to the presence of the living God and the Divine 
Saviour." {Professor Briggs' Inaugural, pp. 5, <5.) 

The future outcome on that line of study is summed up 
by the professor as follows : "The Apostolic theology 
will be traced from its origin at Pentecost in its subse- 
quent division into the great types, the conservative 
Jewish Christian of Saint James and the advanced Jewish 
Christian of Saint Peter; the Gentile Christian of Saint 
Paul and the Hellenistic of the Epistle to the Hebrews; 
and, finally, the Johannine of the Gospel, Epistles, and 
Apocalypse of John; and the whole will be considered, 
in the unity of the New Testament. As the last 
thing the whole Bible will be considered showing 



THE TRIALS OF PROFESSOR CHARLES A. BRIGGS. 513 

not only the unity of the Theology of Christ and 
His apostles, but also the unity of the Theology of Moses 
and David and all the prophets with the Theology of 
Jesus and His apostles, as each distinct theology takes 
its place in the advancing system of divine revelation, all 
conspiring to the completion of a perfect, harmonious, 
symmetrical organism, the infallible expression of God's 
will, character, and being to His favored children." 
(Study of Holy Scripture, p. 606.) On this line of in- 
terpreting the teachings of the word of God, Professor 
Briggs had been giving instruction for a number of years, 
and he was accordingly transferred to the new profes- 
sorship by the directors, November 11, 1890. 

The Inaugural — Action Thereon. — On the occasion 
of his entering upon his assigned duties (January 20, 
1891) Professor Briggs delivered an inaugural address, 
and to some of the expressions and sentiments contained 
therein certain parties took exceptions. In consequence, 
the Presbytery of New York, on motion (April 13, 1891) 
appointed a committee, "to which the said address (the 
inaugural) was referred for consideration, with instruc- 
tions to report at the meeting in May, what action, if any, 
be appropriate thereto." This committee reported to the 
Presbytery, May n, 1891, and thereupon it was "Re- 
solved, that a committee be appointed to arrange and pre- 
pare the necessary proceedings appropriate in the case of 
Dr. Briggs." This committee, consisting of three ministers 
and two elders, then became the prosecuting committee. 
The hearing of the case, however, was postponed to the 
meeting of the presbytery in the autumn. The following 
ministers and elders constituted the prosecuting com- 
mittee : Rev. Drs. George W. F. Birch, Joseph J. Lampe, 
and Robert F. Sample; Elders John J. Stevenson and John 
J. McCook. Dr. Sample took no part publicly in the ac- 
tion of the committee. 



514 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

At this point in the proceedings of these trials it is due 
truth and justice that the reader's attention be directed 
to certain influences that had been operating within the 
church for two or three years. These influences were 
the legitimate outgrowth of a series of articles published 
in a certain newspaper and which were systematically 
sent gratis in untold numbers to the leading ministers 
and elders of the church, especially west of the Alle- 
ghanies. These articles were published previous to the 
meeting of the General Assembly at Detroit, in 1891, 
but after that body took action on the subject they virtu- 
ally ceased. 

In illustration we give the following extract from "The 
History of Union Theological Seminary," by Professor 
George L. Prentiss (pp. 182, 183). 

"The leading secular journals of New York watched 
the case with the greatest interest and furnished the pub- 
lic with a vast amount of information on all its successive 
phases. . . . For the most part they were impartial 
and eager to get at and to tell the truth, the whole truth 
and, so far as the infirmities of human nature in the mat- 
ter of news would permit, nothing but the truth. One 
of them, however, 'the leading evening paper,' was an 
exception. Its proprietor at that time, who was said to be 
also the author of some of its sharpest editorials on 
the subject, was one of the most estimable men in New 
York; kind-hearted, generous, and full of varied Chris- 
tian activity; but his zeal for Presbyterian orthodoxy 
was not at all according to knowledge — Dr. Briggs was 
to him a bete noire, and 'higher criticism' another name 
for downright infidelity. The editorials on these subjects 
were laden with the wildest sort of personal abuse and 
denunciation. They were just what for the honor of fair 
and truthful journalism they should not have been. Dr. 
Briggs, his colleagues and friends, Union Seminary and 



THE TRIALS OF PROFESSOR CHARLES A. BRIGGS. 515 

its Board of Directors, day after day, and month after 
month, were stigmatized in frenzied assaults of blind pas- 
sion and calumny. And yet this paper was sent far and 
wide to ministers and elders of the Presbyterian Church 
in countless numbers, renewing old theological prejudices 
and sowing the seeds of new ones. As a faithful his- 
torian of Union Seminary I have felt bound to refer to 
this painful instance and illustration of the kind of war- 
fare which it had to endure." 

In this connection the following incident may not be 
lacking in interest for the reader. It is a general rule 
that writers employed on newspapers are required to 
prepare articles which in their influence do not antagon- 
ize, but rather reflect the notions and wishes of the pro- 
prietor; to follow out his suggestions and conform to his 
directions. It was because of this rule that two of the 
journalists employed at that time on the newspaper men- 
tioned above afterward came to Dr. Briggs and, explain- 
ing the circumstances in which they were placed, ex- 
pressed their deep regret that they had been instrumental 
in thus inflicting upon him a great wrong. 

The General Assembly of 1891 met at Detroit, Michi- 
gan, and to it came sixty-three overtures from presby- 
teries asking that action be taken in relation to the "ut- 
terances of Professor Charles A. Briggs." In accordance 
with the evident desire implied in these overtures, the as- 
sembly resolved: "That in the exercise of its rights to 
veto the appointments of professors in the seminaries, the 
General Assembly hereby disapproves of the appointment 
of Rev. Charles A. Briggs to the Edward Robinson pro- 
fessorship in Union Theological Seminary." 

First Trial of Dr. Briggs. — Four months after this ac- 
tion of the assembly the matter came before the Presby- 
tery of New York, October 15, 1891, when the prose- 
cuting committee presented their charges in pamphlet 



516 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

form. In order to give Professor Briggs an opportunity 
"to plead to the charges and specification," thus placed 
in his hands, the hearing was postponed to a meeting of 
the presbytery to be held on November 4th. The pres- 
bytery at this meeting heard the case. In order that the 
members might follow the argument, they had in their 
hands printed copies of the charges and specifications of 
the prosecuting committee, and also copies of the in- 
augural, and of the response to the above charges made 
by Professor Briggs. The Professor was heard in his 
defense. The presbytery, however, thought proper after 
hearing the "response to the charges" to exercise its 
right, and in so doing it dismissed the case. The vote 
stood ninety-four to thirty-nine — in the affirmative, 
seventy-one ministers and twenty-three elders; in the 
negative, twenty-seven ministers and twelve elders. 

The presbytery adopted the following: "Resolved, 
that the Presbytery of New York, having listened to the 
paper of the Rev. Charles A. Briggs, D.D., in the case, 
etc., . . . and without approving of the positions 
stated in his inaugural address, at the same time desiring 
earnestly the peace and quiet of the church, and in view 
of the declarations made by Dr. Briggs touching his loy- 
alty to the Holy Scriptures and the Westminster stand- 
ards, and his disclaimers of interpretations put on some 
of his words, deems it best to dismiss the case, and here- 
by does so dismiss it." {Minutes of the Presbytery.) 

In consequence of this action of the presbytery the 
prosecuting committee appealed to the General Assembly 
which met the following May (1892) at Portland, Ore- 
gon. When the appeal came before the assembly it was 
sustained, and the decision of the Presbytery of New 
York, in dismissing the case, was reversed, and that judi- 
catory was directed to prosecute the trial. This as- 



THE TRIALS OF PROFESSOR CHARLES A. BRIGGS. 517 

sembly took action only on the appeal, and did not enter 
upon the merits of the case, but directed a new trial. 

The Second and Exhaustive Trial of Dr. Briggs. — 
This trial covers the entire ground, as in the one held 
afterward, before the General Assembly of 1893, the same 
arguments were virtually presented and replied to in like 
manner. In accordance with the direction of the assem- 
bly, as mentioned above, the Presbytery of New York 
at its regular session, October 3, 1892, took preliminary 
action in relation to a second trial of Dr. Briggs. The 
respective parties in the case were notified to be in readi- 
ness at a special meeting of the presbytery, on November 
9, 1892. 

This trial was exhaustive in its various details. It com- 
menced on the day named, November 9, 1892, in conduct- 
ing it the presbytery, as time and convenience permitted, 
occupied about twenty days, and sometimes two sessions 
a day. The final report was made on January 9, 1893. 

That the reader may have an idea of the facilities for 
obtaining information on the subject in hand, by the 
presbytery, when sitting as a court, a few facts are ad- 
duced. In the hands of each member of the presbytery — 
one of the most scholarly in the church — when acting as 
a court on this occasion were printed copies of the in- 
augural address, on whose doctrine the charges were 
based. Dr. John J. McCook, in his argument in behalf 
of the prosecuting committee before the assembly of 1893, 
says: "The trial is based upon the doctrines of the in- 
augural address, and upon those doctrines of the in- 
augural address which are alleged to be offenses against 
Presbyterian doctrine. (The Appeal in the Briggs 
Heresy Case, p. 372.) This statement implied that criti- 
cisms should be confined to the inaugural alone. 

In this, the most complete trial in the series, there were 
in the hands of each member of the presbytery printed 



518 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

copies of the inaugural, the charges themselves, the re- 
sponse of Dr. Briggs to the said charges, the committee's 
second pamphlet in reply to Dr. Briggs's criticisms on its 
first, and also its "amended charges and specifications, 
etc., and other documents bearing on the subject. 

Reason as an Authority. — In the inaugural (p. 24) oc- 
curs the following: "There are historically three great 
fountains of divine authority — the Bible, the Church, and 
the Reason." The prosecuting committee inferred that 
the inaugural in this sentence : "Coordinated the Church 
and Reason with the Bible;" that is, to use their own 
words: "Making the Church and the Reason, each to 
be independent and sufficient fountain of divine author- 
ity." This assumption the Professor repudiated strenu- 
ously. First, because it was untrue ; and second, because 
it was an inference of the committee. In respect to the 
latter, he cited as an authoritative precedent the ruling of 
the General Assembly of 1824 (see p. 403), in relation 
to admitting inferences as arguments. That ruling says : 
"No one can tell in what sense an ambiguous expression 
is used but the speaker or writer, and he has a right to 
explain himself. . . . Another principle is, that 
no man can rightly be convicted of heresy by inference or 
implication . . . it is not right to charge any man 
with an opinion which he disavows." 

The Professor states that though the church and rea- 
son are fountains in the sense of means or mediums of 
divine authority, they both are fallible, but on the other 
hand, "the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments 
are the only infallible rule of faith and practice." On the 
second page following the one from which the objec- 
tionable sentence is quoted, the inaugural has this passage 
which shows the sense in which he used the word "foun- 
tain." It seems strange that the gist of the following 
incidental and clear definition of the sense in which Dr. 



THE TRIALS OF PROFESSOR CHARLES A. BRIGGS. 519 

Briggs used the above word was unfortunately over- 
looked by the committee. Thus he says: "Another 
means used by God to make himself known is the forms 
of the reason, using reason in a broad sense to embrace 
the metaphysical categories, the conscience and the re- 
ligious feeling. Here in the Holy of Holies of human 
nature, God presents Himself to those who seek Him." 
(Inaugural, p. 26.) Again, "Unless God's authority is 
discerned in the forms of the reason there is no ground 
upon which any of the heathen could ever have been 
saved, for they knew nothing of Bible or Church. . . . 
Unless God's authority works in the forms of the reason 
we cannot explain 'the inward work of the Holy Spirit, 
bearing witness by and with the Word, in our hearts,' or 
'the testimony of the spirit of adoption,' witnessing 
'with our spirits that we are the children of God.' 'It 
is impossible that the Bible and the Church should ever 
exert their full power until the human reason, trained 
and strained to the utmost, rise to the heights of its en- 
ergies and reach forth after God and His Christ with 
absolute devotion and self-renouncing love.' " These pass- 
ages, quoted from the inaugural, were not elicited as ex- 
planatory in reply to a charge of the committee, but were 
used in an appropriate connection, and therefore the more 
significant. (Inaugural, p. 66; App. thereto, 88, 89. 
Con. Faith, I., 5; XVII I., 2.) 

The reason used as a means can only be made available 
in its exercise, and that implies the freedom of choice. 
Our first parents in the Garden of Eden had that freedom, 
when they chose to disobey the command of God, and as 
such they were held responsible. The same principle is 
inherent in the souls of their descendants. Abraham rea- 
soned when he chose to accept the call of God, or else he 
was a mental and moral machine, and thus devoid of 
responsibility. Joshua urged the Israelites, saying: 



520 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

"Choose ye this day whom ye will serve." Could they thus 
choose without exercising their reason? The same prin- 
ciple runs through the New Testament from beginning to 
end; "whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but 
have everlasting life." Thus believing is choosing, and 
therefore exercising reason. 

The Stress on Reason. — In these trials the prosecuting 
committee seemed to lay special stress upon the "utter- 
ances" of Professor Briggs in respect to the reason or 
the church as a means or fountain of divine authority. 
In more fully expressing his views on this subject Pro- 
fessor Briggs said : "I do not mean that there is any 
original divine authority in the human reason, or that 
there is any original divine authority in the Christian 
Church, but simply that they are channels, fountains, 
media, through which God's Holy Spirit speaks to men. 
. . . I use fountain not in the sense of the original 
source, because, as I have said, God alone is the original 
source." . . . The church and reason must yield to 
the Supreme Judge, the Holy Spirit, when speaking in 
Holy Scripture. I have not exalted the reason over the 
Bible. I am no rationalist." The charges were elabo- 
rately discussed by three members of the committee, to 
whose arguments, sometimes traversing the same charges, 
the Professor made answer seriatim. He contended that 
great numbers of the citations from the Scriptures made 
by the committee were irrelevant to the case, and that the 
others, when properly interpreted, did not invalidate his 
position. He also urged that the committee directed their 
objections specially against their ozvn interpretation of 
words and phrases in isolated passages in the inaugural, 
and in consequence their arguments were defective, since 
they were leveled at illegitimate inferences rather than 
explicit statements. He likewise directed attention to the 
fact that the inaugural was very much condensed in its 



THE TRIALS OF PROFESSOR CHARLES A. BRIGGS. 5 2 1 

subject matter — which covered a large field — and that it 
was addressed to an audience of educated men, who were 
at once able to recognize the line of thought and illustra- 
tion. Owing to these facts the inaugural was liable to be 
misinterpreted; and he complained of misleading state- 
ments in respect to its sentiments that had been sent 
broadcast throughout the church. 

The Pentateuch and Isaiah. — We are much limited as 
to space, and in consequence we state concisely the 
charges, and in the same manner the replies thereto — 
but we hope clearly. That this should be done is due 
to truth and justice, and equally so to the private mem- 
bers of the church. 

Some of the charges as presented may appear to the 
lay mind as involving veritable heresy. For instance, 
the opinion that Moses did not write the Pentateuch ; and 
that Isaiah was not the author of more than half the 
book that bears his name. This was only a matter of 
opinion on the part of Dr. Briggs, and which he did not 
deem an offense against the standards of the church any 
more than the opinions held to-day by orthodox theolo- 
gians as to who wrote the book of Job, or who was the 
author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. These opinions 
had, through certain of the press and otherwise, been so 
presented that great numbers of private members of the 
church were startled at a theory so contrary to their own 
notions on the subject that they received an impression 
that Dr. Briggs repudiated the Pentateuch, as if it were 
not Scripture given by inspiration. These are, however, 
the words of Professor Briggs : "Though Moses be not 
the author of the Pentateuch, yet Mosaic history, Mosaic 
institutions, and Mosaic legislation lie at the base of all 
the original documents, and the name of Moses pervades 
the Pentateuch as a sweet fragrance, and binds the whole 
together with irresistible attraction into an organism of 
35 



522 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

divine law. ... I firmly believe the Pentateuch one 
of the books of Holy Scripture, having divine authority, 
and as I have always taught, one of those Holy Scrip- 
tures which constitute 'the only infallible rule of Faith 
and Practice/ " Again : "Though Isaiah did not write 
half the book which bears his name, yet I firmly believe 
that holy prophets no less inspired than Isaiah wrote the 
greater half of the book under the guidance of the Di- 
vine Spirit, so that the book with different authors is as 
truly one of the books of Holy Scripture as if it were 
written by Isaiah alone." (Response, p. 21.) 

"The great mass of the Old Testament was written by 
authors whose names or connection with their writings 
are lost in oblivion. . . . We desire to know whether 
the Bible came from God, and it is not of any great im- 
portance that we should know the names of those 
worthies chosen by God to mediate his revelation. It is 
possible that there is a providential purpose in the with- 
holding of these names in order that men might have no 
excuse for building on human authority, and so should be 
forced to resort to divine authority." (Inaugural, p. jj.) 
In confirmation of his opinion he adduces the Confession 
of Faith, Chap. I., Sec. 4 : "The authority of Holy Scrip- 
ture, for which it ought to be believed and obeyed, de- 
pendeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, 
but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the author 
thereof; and therefore it is to be received, because it is 
the word of God." Again: "All that we need to know, 
all that any Presbyterian ever subscribes to is that the 
Scriptures 'are the only infallible rule of faith and prac- 
tice.' " (Inaugural, p. 27, Third edition.) "I affirm 
that I have never anywhere, or at any time, made any 
statements or taught any doctrines that in the slightest 
degree impair the above doctrine. ... I yield to no 
one in reverence for the Bible. My life is devoted to the 



THE TRIALS OF PROFESSOR CHARLES A. BRIGGS. 523 

study of the Bible. Every word, every syllable, ever let- 
ter receives reverent and careful handling." (Response, 
p. 20; Appendix, p. pi.) 

Progressive SanctiRcation after Death. — The intima- 
tions in the Scriptures that the redeemed in the Middle or 
Intermediate State take an interest in the spiritual affairs 
of the souls of men yet living on the earth, has directed 
especial attention to that subject, and also to the inference 
that such loving interest on the part of the saints in that 
state indicates progress in holiness and knowledge. 
Moses and Elijah manifested that interest when on the 
Mount of Transfiguration they "spake of His decease 
which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem" — where- 
by an atonement was to be made for human sin. Our 
Lord said: "There shall be joy in heaven over one sinner 
that repenteth," and even Dives, in the parable, pleads in 
behalf of his brethren yet living. 

The committee charged Professor Briggs "with teach- 
ing that sanctification is not complete at death" — that is 
it was not perfected — and it laid great stress on the 
charge "as contrary to the standards of the church." The 
committee cited as proof the answer to Question 37 of the 
Shorter Catechism, which says: "The souls of believers 
are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do imme- 
diately pass into glory." The question may be asked, 
Did the Westminster divines use the word perfect in this 
connection in an absolute sense, or intend it to be thus 
understood? Did they not use the term rather in the 
sense of a perfect germ of holiness; that is, as an ele- 
ment which is susceptible of being developed into a state 
of holiness that increases and becomes more and more 
assimilated to God in character. That they used the term 
in the latter sense is evident from their use of it in other 
connections. Such outcome would be consistent with the 
progressive nature of the soul itself, as an ever-active, 



524 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

spiritual, moral, and intellectual being; and more espe- 
cially when freed from the infirmities of the body. On 
the contrary, if the souls of the redeemed are at death 
made absolutely perfect in holiness, in that respect they 
would remain stationary throughout the intermediate 
state, for being already perfect there could be no further 
progress. 

"At their death," does not necessarily imply "in the 
very moment of the transition from life to death . . . 
but is in antithesis with, in this life," and means noth- 
ing more than "in the state of death." "Made perfect 
in holiness" does not necessarily imply "that sanctifica- 
tion of the soul is instantaneously perfected and com- 
pleted, in the moment of time after it leaves the body," 
but is consistant with the belief that the soul is made per- 
fect in holiness "in the state of death," in accordance 
with the answer to Question 86, L. C. : "The communion 
in glory with Christ, which the members of the invisible 
church enjoy immediately after death, is in that their 
souls are then made perfect in holiness, and received into 
the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God 
in light and glory." "Is that communion limited to the 
moment of time at death? Does it not rather continue 
during the whole time in that state, beginning immedi- 
ately after death?" {Condensed from Defense, pp. 151- 

I53-) 

Professor Briggs holds the doctrine of the progress of 

the soul in holiness in this life, according to the Confes- 
sion of Faith as presented in the answer to the thirty-fifth 
question of Shorter Catechism, which says: "Sanctifica- 
tion" — or making holy — "is a work of God's grace where- 
by we are renewed in the whole man after the image of 
God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin and 
live unto righteousness." 

Dr. Birch, in behalf of the committee, argued that "all 



THE TRIALS OF PROFESSOR CHARLES A. BRIGGS. 525 

dead Christians are asleep. When we are asleep we show 
the rest which consists in the inaction of mind and body. 
But all the Christians, both dead and living, must be 
changed; and why the dead Christians should be com- 
pelled to go through the process of sanctification in the 
Middle State, while living Christians are the subjects of 
immediate sanctification, I cannot imagine. (Argument, 
p. 62.) 

Dr. Briggs holds that this progress in sanctification or 
holiness continues in the Middle State, and contends that 
"the doctrine of immediate sanctification at death dis- 
honors Jesus Christ, for it confines His heavenly reign 
and meditation to the Church in this world." 

"Regeneration is an act of God, and from its very idea 
is instantaneous, for it is the production of a new life 
in man. Regeneration is one of the terms used in the 
New Testament to describe this beginning of Christian 
life. But sanctification is the growth of that life from 
birth to full manhood into the likeness of Christ. It is 
in this world a growth; it is incomplete with the best of 
men at death. . . . Believers who enter the Middle 
State, enter guiltless; they are pardoned and justified; 
they are mantled in the blood and righteousness of Christ ; 
nothing will be able to separate them from His love. 
. . . But, above all, Christ is a king in the intermedi- 
ate state. Here in this world His reign is only partial; 
there it is complete. Here His kingdom is interwoven 
with the kingdom of darkness; there it is apart from all 
evil and hindrance. His reign is entire over His saints, 
and they are being prepared by Him for the advent, in 
which they will come with Him to reign over the world." 
(Inaugural Appendix, pp. 106, 107, no.) 

The Soul in the Middle State. — In proof that his belief 
was in accordance with that taught in the standards of 
the church, Dr. Briggs cited what is said of the condition 



526 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

of the soul in the Middle State, when "in communion in 
glory with Christ." Question 86, Larger Catechism: 
"The communion in glory with Christ, which the mem- 
bers of the invisible church enjoy immediately after 
death, is in that their souls are then made perfect in holi- 
ness and received into the highest heavens, where they 
behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for 
the full redemption of their bodies." The professor re- 
fers to the group of questions and answers in the Larger 
Catechism (82-90), which treat of the communion of 
saints in glory with Christ in the Middle State, and to 
Chapter XIII. of the Confession. He sums up by say- 
ing: "There is no authority in the Scriptures or in the 
creeds of Christendom for the doctrine of immediate and 
perfect sanctification at death. The only sanctification 
known to experience, to Christian orthodoxy, and the 
Bible is progressive sanctification. Progressive sanctifica- 
tion after death is the doctrine of the Bible and of the 
church, and it is of vast importance in our times that we 
should understand it and live in accordance with it." 
(Inaugural, p. 54.) "It is extremely improbable that the 
Westminster divines would limit the communion in the 
future state to two points of time — first, the moment of 
death, and second, the moment of resurrection, and leave 
entirely out of view the millenniums of the Middle State 
and the eternities of the Ultimate State. (The Defense, 
p. 155.) The human soul is a finite being and can never 
reach infinity; it, therefore, can ever increase in holiness, 
but never attain the infinite holiness of God. How could 
the redeemed, if no farther endowed in holiness than they 
are on earth or in the article of death, be able to enjoy 
or sympathize continuously with the communion of saints 
in heaven? In order to do so, must they not continually 
increase in holiness and knowledge? 
A Future or Second Probation. — In relation to the 



THE TRIALS OF PROFESSOR CHARLES A. BRIGGS. 527 

modern theory of a second probation after death the Pro- 
fessor says : "I do not find this doctrine in the Bible." In 
consequence, he repudiated the supposition that in the 
Middle State the training of redeemed souls partook of 
the nature of probation. He says: "I do find in the 
Bible the doctrine of the Middle State of conscious higher 
life in the communion with Christ and the multitudes 
of the departed of all ages (//. Cor., v., i-p, and Heb. 
xii, 21-24), and of the necessity of entire sanctification 
in order that the work of redemption may be completed." 
{Inaugural, p. 54.) 

The committee virtually argued that in respect to the 
redeemed souls' progress in sanctification or increase in 
holiness after death there was no explicit statement, either 
in the Scriptures or in the Confession; yet such progress 
is obviously implied in both, and is also consistent with 
the ever-active, moral, and intellectual nature of the soul 
itself. Is the aged and devout Christian no more Christ- 
like in character than when in youth he or she set out to 
follow the Saviour "in the regeneration?" To reject 
such progress in sanctification or holiness, is to contravene 
the spiritual and glorious doctrine of the communion of 
saints in the Middle State, as set forth by the Apostle 
Paul with exstatic joy (77. Cor. xii., 1-8). Professor 
Farrand in his booklet, "The Other Side," on page 30, 
says: "The verdict of heresy on this charge is the most 
astonishing of all. . . . That judgment of the as- 
sembly would rule John Calvin out of the Presbyterian 
ministry." Calvin on Phil. 1-6, as quoted by Professor 
Briggs, says: "For although those who have been freed 
from the mortal body do no longer contend with the 
lusts of the flesh. . . . Yet there will be no absurdity 
in speaking of them as in the way of advancement." Still 
further, it is a marvel that a Christian scholar should be 
charged with heresy because he held this doctrine, so 



528 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

real and so comforting to God's people, so sublime in its 
spiritual and intellectual results, and universally recog- 
nized by the experience of all Christians as consistent with 
their longing desire to be more and more assimilated to 
God in hpliness. 



LII. 

Briggs Trial Continued. 

Errors or Rather Discrepancies in the Bible. — The 
prosecuting committee charged Dr. Briggs with holding 
there were errors in the Bible, and that therefore such 
teaching "was contrary to the standards of the church." 
Referring to the Confession, Chap. I., I, the Professor 
says this teaches that God "committed wholly to writing 
that knowledge of God and of his will, which is neces- 
sary unto salvation. This statement I sincerely adopt." 
Note what was thus committed to writing: "Not the 
knowledge of geography, not the knowledge of chronol- 
ogy, not the knowledge of correct citations, not exactness 
in names of persons and things, unless you can prove 
that these are necessary unto salvation." {Defense, p. 

93-) 

Such errors or rather discrepancies have been recog- 
nized by theologians and Bible students from Augustine 
and Jerome to John Calvin, and from the latter to the 
present day. But what is wonderful, not one of them 
impairs or infringes upon the truths that pertain to the 
salvation of men. Professor Briggs says : "These errors 
are all in the circumstances, and not in the essentials ; they 
are in the human setting, not in the precious jewel 
itself" — that is, the divine revelation. . . . "The only 
errors I have found or ever recognized in Holy 
Scripture have been beyond the range of faith and prac- 
tice. ... I have always refrained as far as possible 
from pointing to errors in the present text of the Scrip- 



53° A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

tures. But every Biblical scholar admits them." {In- 
augural, p. 35, and Defense, pp. 89, 105.) Intelligent 
lay members of the church have, unfortunately, been 
much disturbed on this point within recent years, in con- 
sequence of the frequent publication by portions of the 
religious press and otherwise of remarks made by Pro- 
fessor Briggs in relation to these discrepancies. These 
remarks were very often quoted by certain newspapers, 
without reference or explanation as to the connection in 
which they occur, but rather with unfriendly comments 
upon their own interpretation of the views of the profes- 
sor, with the legitimate result that he came to be looked 
upon by great numbers of the private members of the 
church as an impugner of the integrity of the Bible. 

The Two Citations. — Since the Reformation much 
study has been devoted by the theologians to reconcile 
these discrepancies. Elaborate investigations have been 
made into the original tongues in which these passages 
were written, together with the translations thereof, and 
into contemporary profane history. It is due the reader 
that we give an instance or two of these discrepancies 
from a number that might be adduced. John Calvin 
said, in respect to Matt, xxvii., 9: "How the name of 
Jeremiah crept in, I confess I know not, nor am I seri- 
ously troubled about it. That the name Jeremiah has 
been put for Zechaniah by an error, the fact itself shows, 
because there is no such statement in Jeremiah." 

Take another instance which Calvin also noticed; one 
very simple in character and inoffensive in influence. 
Gen. xlvii., 31, reads: "And he said, swear unto me; and 
he swore unto him. And Isreal bowed himself upon the 
bed's head." In Heb. xi., 21, we read: "By faith Jacob, 
when he was a-dying, blest each of the sons of Joseph; 
and worshiped leaning upon the top of his staff." Cal- 
vin, in substance, explains; there are two Hebrew words 



BRIGGS TRIAL CONTINUED. 53 1 

alike in their consonant letters, but under one of the 
letters of one word, the vowel point is different from that 
under the same letter in the other word. In the Greek 
version of the Old Testament, which the Apostles used, 
and which was made at Alexandria in Egypt, about 250 
B. C, the seventy Jews — uninspired men — the translators, 
instead of rendering the Hebrew word in question, by a 
Greek word, meaning couch or bed, by an oversight in 
respect to the vowel point, translated the word by one 
meaning a staff. "But what matters such an error as 
this ? What difference does it make to our faith and prac- 
tice, whether Jacob leaned on his staff or his bed's head ?" 
{Defense, pp. 106, 10/.) 

Professor Briggs in the course of his argument di- 
rected attention to a number of discrepancies that may 
be more important in their influence than the two cited 
above, but none of them impair divine revelation in re- 
spect to the salvation of men. Is a scholar a heretic be- 
cause he incidentally notices these discrepancies and points 
out their harmlessness ? In truth, they ought to have a 
beneficial influence in directing judicious and reverent 
criticism, thus making known how wonderfully God has 
preserved the "precious jewel" of His revelation. 

Dr. Briggs protested most earnestly against certain 
changes in phraseology made by the committee, and the 
arguments based thereon as misleading and giving an 
untrue impression. For instance in the inaugural {p. 28, 
Third edition) is the following: "Men are influenced by 
their temperaments and environments, which of the three 
ways" — alluding to the Bible, the Church, and the Rea- 
son — "of access to God they may pursue." This sentence 
the prosecuting committee in its charges (p. 19) for some 
reason changed to the active voice, and for the word "in- 
fluenced" substituted the word "determine." Dr. Briggs, 
after referring to the false impression made by this 



532 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

change, said in reply : "It is the Spirit of God who alone 
determines in which of the ways they shall find the divine 
certainty of which they are in quest." (Res., p. 28.) 

Race Redemption. — "The Bible tells us of a race origin, 
a race sin, a race ideal, a race Redeemer, and a race re- 
demption (Rom. v., 18; I. John ii., 2). But Dr. Birch, 
in his argument (p. 68), says: "The assertion of a race 
redemption suggests Universalism." The inaugural, 
however (pp. 55, 5<5) had already said: "The Bible does 
not teach universal salvation, but does teach the salva- 
tion of the world ... of the race of man . . . 
the salvation of the world as a whole, compared with 
which the unredeemed will be few and insignificant, and 
evidently beyond the reach of redemption by their own 
act of rejecting it." 

The Prejudices Excited. — The committee charged that 
the "utterances" of Dr. Briggs — which it characterized 
as "erroneous and ill-advised" — "have seriously disturbed 
the peace of the church . . . and produced such 
widespread uneasiness and agitation, as to cause sixty- 
three presbyteries to overture the assembly [at Detroit] 
with reference to the same . . . yet we [the com- 
mittee] have determined not to include this grave offense 
against the peace of the church in the list of formal 
charges." (Report of Committee, pp. 4, 5.) This proc- 
lamation of leniency had virtually the same effect upon 
the public mind as if such charges had been made ; against 
that impression Professor Briggs earnestly protested. 

The prejudice against Dr. Briggs, so notorious that it 
has been noticed adversely by writers in other denomi- 
nations, can be explained in view of influences exerted 
for years through the press (see page 514). The persons 
thus influenced were of two classes — private members 
of the church and the ministry — though only a portion of 
either class. That which obtained, especially among the 



BRIGGS TRIAL CONTINUED. 533 

private members, was the outgrowth of two causes; the 
one, his notices of the errors or discrepancies in the Bible 
— as mentioned above — which occurred incidentally in his 
investigations; the other, his opinion that Moses did not 
write the Pentateuch and Isaiah did not write all the book 
that bears his name. Under the first head, some Chris- 
tian people assumed that if the Bible contained errors or 
discrepancies it could not be an inspired book ; and under 
the second head, that if Professor Briggs did not accept 
the current opinion as to the authorship of the Pentateuch 
and of the book of Isaiah, they took for granted he 
rejected their divine authority. For the most part, the pri- 
vate members, for obvious reasons, never took much in- 
telligent interest in the ecclesiastical trials in the Presby- 
terian Church during the last half century or more, because 
in them were involved many metaphysical theories which 
are discussed only by theologians; for similar reason the 
same class took comparatively little interest in the present 
trial in regard to the "fountain of authority in the church 
and reason." They took, however, an interest in the dis- 
cussion on progressive sanctification or increase in holi- 
ness, as it appealed to their own spiritual life or con- 
sciousness. It was different in respect to the authors or 
writers of the Bible, which they were accustomed to rec- 
ognize as such — that they understood. They also could 
appreciate certain statements — though misleading — that 
were in the public prints in relation to discrepancies in 
the Bible, and concerning Moses and Isaiah. During a 
number of years previous to these trials unauthorized 
statements in relation to the professor's views in respect 
to these errors were spread broadcast throughout the 
church. Reference was scarcely ever made in these pub- 
lications as to the unimportant character of the discrep- 
ancies, nor explanation given of the connections in which 
they occur, but on the contrary, they were usually ac- 



_^ 



534 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

companied by unfriendly comments. In consequence, 
great numbers of Christian people whose range of Bib- 
lical interpretation was somewhat limited, seeing these 
bald statements, inferred that if the Bible contained er- 
rors or discrepancies its divine character was impeached. 
If these Christian men and women had had the facts in 
the case fully presented to them, their faith in the Bible 
would have been not only unimpaired but strengthened. 

Educated Bible scholars know well the unimportant 
character of these few discrepancies in the sacred volume, 
which, owing to misapprehensions, so sadly disturbed the 
minds of many of the Presbyterian laity. In respect to 
the ministry and their apparently unconscious prejudice, 
it seems to have been occasioned by an idiosyncrasy of 
Dr. Briggs himself — was this characteristic on trial ? He 
was so confident of the correctness of his own position in 
relation to Biblical interpretations, that he was unable 
to understand why educated theologians could not see the 
same from their standpoint that he did from his. And 
sometimes he impulsively treated their opinions on such 
subjects with little respect, almost indeed with contempt. 
This was very unfortunate and perhaps even unreason- 
able, and meanwhile very irritating. But he earnestly 
and publicly asked pardon of both these parties when, in 
reply to the charge of the committee, he said : "If I have 
in any way, directly or indirectly, been the occasion of 
disturbing the peace of the church, I deeply regret it. 
If I have given pain and anxiety to my brethren in the 
ministry, or to the people of Christ's Church by any ut- 
terances in the inaugural address, I am very sorry." 
(The Response, p. 6.) 

The Minute Adopted. — On the conclusion of the second 
trial of Dr. Briggs — January 9, 1893 — tne presbytery 
adopted the following from the report of the committee 



BRIGGS TRIAL CONTINUED. 535 

"appointed 1 to bring in a minute to express its action 
. . . and final judgment in the case." 

"In obedience to this mandate" — that of the General 
Assembly of 1892 — "the Presbytery of New York has 
tried the case. It has listened to the evidence and argu- 
ment of the committee of prosecution, acting in fidelity to 
the duty committed to them. It has heard the defense and 
evidence of the Rev. Charles A. Briggs, presented in 
accordance with the rights secured to every minister of 
the church. 

"The presbytery has kept in mind these established 
principles of our polity, 'that no man can rightly be con- 
victed of heresy by inference or implication,' that 'in the 
interpretation of ambiguous expressions candor requires 
that a court should favor the accused by putting upon 
his words the more favorable rather than the less favor- 
able construction/ and 'there are truths and forms with 
respect to which men of good character may differ/ 

"Giving due consideration to the defendant's explana- 
tion of the language used in his inaugural address, ac- 
cepting his frank and full disclaimer of the interpretation 
which has been put upon some of its phrases and illustra- 
tions, crediting his affirmations of loyalty to the stand- 
ards of the church and to the Holy Scriptures as the only 
infallible rule of faith and practice, the presbytery does 
not find that he has transgressed the limits of the liberty 
allowed under our constitution to scholarship and opinion. 

"Therefore, without expressing approval of the critical 
or theological views embodied in the inaugural address or 
the manner in which they have been expressed and il- 
lustrated, the presbytery pronounces the Rev. Charles A. 
Briggs, D.D., fully acquitted of the offenses alleged 
against him, the several charges and specifications ac- 
cepted for probation having been not sustained." (The 
Briggs Heresy Case, p. 21. ) 



536 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

We find that twenty-three regular pastors voted in the 
affirmative, and in connection with the churches of the 
latter ten chapel or assistant pastors; in the negative, 
regular pastors ten, chapel or assistant pastors two. That 
is, thirty-three of the regular pastors and their assistants 
voted to acquit, while twelve of the same class voted to 
condemn. 

Thus ended the second trial of Professor Briggs before 
the Presbytery of New York. It was marked by a care- 
ful scrutiny of every point at issue, and for being con- 
ducted in a courteous manner. The physical and mental 
strain upon the moderator, Dr. John C. Bliss, was very 
great. He presided with courtesy and close attention to 
every speaker and phase of the trial; his rulings being 
well considered and impartial. In addition, to the mental 
strain during the day, at night, came the careful revision 
with the stenographer of the notes of the latter, in order 
to have them in readiness for the session on the follow- 
ing day. These labors were appreciated and recognized 
by a unanimous vote of thanks, most heartily given by the 
presbytery. 

The General Assembly of May, 1893, met in Washing- 
ton, D. C. Rev. Prof. Craig of McCormick Seminary 
was elected moderator. In order that the reader may 
have a clear conception of these trials, certain facts and 
influences ought to be considered. The members of the 
Presbytery of New York were the same during the two 
trials of Dr. Briggs which it held, and its members were 
thus familiar with all the phases connected therewith. The 
presbytery had for weeks the documents mentioned above 
{pp. 516, 517), and also heard the respective arguments 
presented on the occasion, and could compare their rele- 
vancy to the charges based on doctrines of the inaugural, 
which they had in their hands. The members of the 
General Assembly, according to conventional rule, are vir- 



BRIGGS TRIAL CONTINUED. 537 

tually changed from year to year; in consequence of the 
nearly 600 members of the assembly of 1893 at Wash- 
ington, D. C, very few, comparatively, had been also 
members of the one of 1892, at Portland, Oregon, or, 
perhaps, at Detroit in 1891. Then, again, of the docu- 
ments that were in the hands of the Presbytery of New 
York, how many copies of which were in use by the 
members of the assembly of 1893, when it sat as a court? 
Strange as it may seem, though all the charges against 
Dr. Briggs were based upon his inaugural address, not 
a copy of that document was the assembly of 1893 will- 
ing to adduce. A commissioner proposed to have copies 
of it introduced, "that the quotations [from it] might be 
read in their connections, but the assembly paid no heed 
to the proposal. (A Calm Review. Dr. Laidlow, p. 29.) 

To be sure, the assembly of 1893 heard the arguments 
bearing on the merits of the case, which were in essential 
points the same as those presented by the committee to 
the presbytery, but previous to this it also heard at great 
length the elaborate speeches made by three members of 
the prosecuting committee in behalf of their own appeal 
from the decisions of the presbytery. These speeches 
contained adverse criticisms on the action of the latter 
court, in first dismissing the case, and second in its ac- 
quittal of Dr. Briggs. 

These "adverse criticisms," which took so much time 
of the assembly, had really nothing to do whatever with 
the merits of the case, though their influence might in- 
cidentally prejudice the court against the professor, and 
also against the action of the Presbytery of New York. 
There were one or two influential considerations in con- 
trast. The presbytery, in conducting the trials, was not 
distracted by outside matters, but was able to give its en- 
tire attention to the subject in hand. On the contrary, 
the attention of the members of the assembly must have 
36 



538 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

been given, also, to the other numerous affairs of the 
church, such as to the reports of its many committees, 
and the discussions thereon. In consequence, instead of 
attending, uninterruptedly, to the trial as did the presby- 
tery, the assembly, amid the pressure of other business 
and at different times as opportunity served, heard in 
turn the pleas of the contestants. That its members were, 
sometimes, weary is indicated by the following statement 
in Dr. Laidlaw's "Review," p. 28: "No wonder that at 
one stage of the proceedings, when Dr. Briggs was pre- 
senting some of his most important evidence, a commis- 
sioner should have moved that the assembly take an ex- 
tended recess, as about half a dozen commissioners near 
him were fast asleep." 

Inerrancy of the Bible — A New Phase. — The inerrancy 
of the Bible came up in a new phase, when the General 
Assembly of 1892 in session at Portland, Oregon, de- 
clared: "Our church holds that the inspired word, as it 
came from God, is without error." {Minutes, p. 179.) 
This deliverance is deemed to teach "the inerrancy of the 
original autographs of Scripture to be the faith of the 
church." In allusion to this deliverance Dr. Briggs 
(App., p. 96) says: "The Westminster Confession does 
not teach the modern dogmatic theory of inerrancy. 
Nothing is said of original autographs. The West- 
minister divines were concerned only with the purity and 
authenticity of the texts in their hands. . . . These 
divines knew as well as we do that the accents and vowel 
points of the Hebrew text then in their possession did 
not come down from the original autographs, pure and 
unchanged. They were not in the original autographs at 
all." 

This deliverance attracted attention and numbers of 
pastors throughout the church protested in general terms 
against such declaration, which was introduced by a com- 



BRIGGS TRIAL CONTINUED. 539 

mittee and hastily adopted by the assembly only a few 
hours before its final adjournment, when one hundred and 
seven members were not present. In consequence, there 
was not time to enter a dissent to the proceedings, but at 
the assembly of 1893, Washington, D. C, a protest was 
presented and signed by eighty-seven members, whose 
names are honored in the church, such as Rev. Drs. Her- 
reck Johnson, S. J. Niccolls, Charles L. Thompson, George 
Alexander, Charles A. Dickey, Francis Brown, Ninian 
Beal Remick, and others. 

The Protest, which in part said : "We protest, because 
it is insisting upon a certain theory of inspiration, when 
our standards have hitherto only emphasized the fact of 
inspiration. So far as the original manuscript came from 
God, undoubtedly it was without error . . . but we 
have no means of determining how far God controlled the 
penman in transcribing from documents purely circum- 
stantial." Again, we protest : "Because it is dogmatizing 
on a matter of which, necessarily, we can have no positive 
knowledge. . . . Notwithstanding some apparent 
discrepancies in matters purely circumstantial, we earn- 
estly protest against imposing this new interpretation of 
our standards upon the church to bind men's consciences 
by enforced subscription to its terms." 

The committee appointed to answer the above protest 
closes their answer with the following conditional sen- 
tence: "If errors were found in the original autographs, 
they could not have proceeded from God, who is truth 
itself, the Author thereof. " {Minutes, 1893, pp. 167- 
i6 9 .) 

The Explanatory Resolution. — In order apparently to 
explain the feature objected to in the Portland deliverance 
the assembly of 1893, at the suggestion of Dr. William C. 
Young, resolved: "That the Bible as we now have it, in 
its various translations and versions, when freed from all 



540 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

errors and mistakes of translators, copyists and printers, 
is the very word of God, and consequently without error." 
{Minutes, p. 169.) The reader, perhaps, will ask wherein 
does the above deliverance differ in idea from the state- 
ment on the same subject, expressed by Dr. Briggs, when 
in his inaugural, page 35, he says: ''These errors are all 
in the circumstances and not in the essentials; they are 
in the human setting, not in the precious jewel itself — 
that is, in the divine revelation? The position of Dr. 
Briggs on the inerrancy of the Bible was the outgrowth 
of careful and reverent study, and in consequence he 
came to the same conclusion on the subject years before 
the General Assembly of 1893 unanimously made the 
above deliverance. The latter body in this 'resolution" 
recognized, indirectly, the existing discrepancies in the 
Bible, and determined to put on record its decision in re- 
spect to them in terms clear and definite. 

A protest was presented to the assembly by Dr. E. P. 
Sprague of Auburn, New York, and entered upon the 
Minutes {pp. 772-3) against the suspension of Dr. Briggs. 
It was signed by sixty-two members of that body; among 
other reasons given was that the action "seemed to abridge 
the liberty of opinion hitherto enjoyed under our stand- 
ards ... as tending to the discouragement of 
thorough study of the Bible and reverent advance in 
the apprehension of divine truth ... as inflicting 
what we cannot but feel is an injustice to a Christian 
scholar of high character and learning, as well as to the 
Presbytery of New York, which had fully acquitted him 
of the charges alleged against him/' 

Misapprehensions. — Had the laity of the Presbyterian 
Church, as well as those of other denominations, known 
the fact that Dr. Briggs had for years been laboring to 
remove extraneous matter from the word of God, and 
present it pure in its sacred contents, which he charac- 



BRIGGS TRIAL CONTINUED. 541 

terized as the "precious jewel/'their minds on this subject 
would never have been disturbed as represented. Another 
phase of this subject ought to attract the attention of 
church members. In his instructions Dr. Briggs has ever, 
when occasion required, made prominent the essential 
and recognized doctrines of the standards of the church. 
On another phase of the subject he says: "I am assured 
by my pupils that I make the Bible to them more real, 
more powerful, more divine. I have never heard a single 
one of the thirteen hundred theological students I have 
trained in the last twenty-six years who has said that I 
impaired his faith in Holy Scripture." 

A Review — Comments. — "It is beyond question that he 
[Professor Briggs] knew how to win the enthusiastic 
affection of his pupils, and that in some cases he had been 
the means of rescuing young men from a profound skep- 
ticism as regards the Bible, to a practical faith in its 
authority." {Vol. VI., p. 265, Church Hist. Series.) On 
the same lines of sentiment an earnest and successful 
Western Presbyterian pastor, though prejudiced by cer- 
tain newspaper rumors, was heard to say: "Well, after 
all, there must be something in that man Briggs ; I never 
met a student of his who was not an ardent student of 
the Bible." 

"The prosecution was conducted with distinguished 
ability and legal acumen, though not with great exegetical 
learning." ... In his reply Professor Briggs showed 
his superiority in a professional familiarity with the sub- 
jects under discussion, and was unhappy only in the tone 
which characterized every reference to the prosecution 
and the assembly. 

"This decision" — the suspension of Dr. Briggs — "lacks 
the calm of the judicial temper. It is pervaded by a per- 
sonal animus which finds an outlet in many of its phases, 
especially in the conversion of the charge of unsound 



542 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

teaching into one of personal immorality, and in making 
the restoration of the offender dependent, not upon his 
retraction of his alleged errors, but upon his 'repentance' 
for his 'sin.' It thus affixes a stigma to the accused, 
which was not warranted by any evidence before the as- 
sembly, nor embodied in any of the charges on which he 
was tried." ( Vol. VI., Church Hist. Series, pp. 266, 26/, 
269.) 

The Apparent Outcome. — The remembrance of these 
trials and many of the incidents connected therewith is 
fresh in the minds of those Presbyterians, and others, 
who keep themselves in touch with the movements within 
the church. As a portion of the latter's history worthy 
of being noticed, we cite two instances that may appear 
as the outcome of these trials. For illustration, the prose- 
cuting committee took exception to "what is called Biblical 
theology," being used "to the disparagement of system- 
atic theology/' as formulated in the creeds and confes- 
sions of the church. It went so far as to characterize 
"Biblical theology as unscientific" {The Argument of Dr. 
Birch, pp. 68, dp). Prof. Briggs had published in the 
Presbyterian Review in 1870 and in 1872 his views in 
respect to the method of studying the word of God, which 
he characterized as Biblical theology. 

It is noteworthy that this, in a measure, new departure 
in the curriculum of American theological seminaries was 
adopted by Princeton Seminary in establishing a profes- 
sorship of "Biblical Theology" in 1893, as did also McCor- 
mick Seminary in 1894. These institutions thus recog- 
nized the importance of that scope of Biblical instruction 
by adopting the same name and, it is presumed, the same 
methods. 

Union Seminary Independent of the General Assembly. 
— In consequence of the reunion of the church in 1870, 
after several preliminary adjustments, Union Seminary, 



BRIGGS TRIAL CONTINUED. 543 

on the basis of a certain compact, came into connection 
with the General Assembly. 

The Board of Directors of the Seminary felt deeply 
wronged by the action of the assembly of 1891, at De- 
troit, in refusing to sanction the transfer of Professor 
Briggs to another chair in the seminary, contending that 
a transfer was not an appointment nor an election, and 
therefore they had a right to make such transfer as other 
seminaries were in the habit of doing and which they 
themselves had often done. We do not deem it expedient 
in this connection to trace the full history of the several 
conferences held by committees appointed by both parties 
to adjust the difficulties that arose between the General 
Assembly and the Directors of Union Seminary, in conse- 
quence of the above action of the former, but refer the 
reader to "Union Theo. Sem., p. 93, and Chap. V., pp. 
255-280. 

The Board of Directors, however, sent a memorial on 
the subject to the assembly of 1892 at Portland, Oregon. 
They gave their reasons in full pertaining to the case, 
and asked "that the veto power conceded to the General 
Assembly in 1870 should no longer reside in that body." 
In a courteous manner the memorial urged that by so 
doing the present assembly could "restore Union Semi- 
nary to its former relations to the General Assembly." 
To this memorial, without noticing the reasons stated 
therein, came the brief answer: "That the assembly de- 
clines to be a party to the breaking of the compact with 
Union Theological Seminary." 

In reply to this answer the directors subsequently said : 
"There is no provision, whatever, in our charter or consti- 
tution for the principle of synodical or assembly supervis- 
ion." "Again, after investigation, we find the legal con- 
sideration . . . leaves us no room to doubt that 
under the laws of the State of New York the attempted 



544 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

agreement of 1870 was beyond the powers of the Board 
of Directors of the Seminary." We "cannot abdicate any 
of our official duties in whole or in part." "The directors 
and faculty are personally bound by their official vow." 
We express "our earnest desire for the restoration of our 
former relations to the General Assembly." The outcome 
was that the Board of Directors, by a vote of nineteen to 
one, rescinded the resolution or compact of 1870. For 
this act on the part of the directors was found what might 
be termed a precedent in the abrogation in 1837, of the 
Plan of Union by the General Assembly, alone, without 
even consulting the other party to the compact — the Gen- 
eial Association of Connecticut (p. J^p). 

The assembly of 1893 at Washington, D. C., indicated 
the relation of Union Seminary to that body as follows : 
"Because of the attempt by the Board [of Directors] 
and on its own motion and against the expressed desire 
of the assembly, to abrogate the compact of 1870, the as- 
sembly disavows all responsibility for the teaching of 
Union Seminary, and declines to receive any report from 
its board." Though thus cherishing a hope and promis- 
ing a welcome, should the seminary return, yet afterward 
the assembly gave notice that it would not give aid to 
any students who may pursue their studies in a seminary 
under its ban. (Minutes of 1890, pp. 157, 161.) "Union 
Seminary was founded as an independent seminary upon 
its own charter, owing ecclesiastical allegiance as an in- 
stitution to no body whatever. . . . There is no spirit 
of revolt or rebellion behind this action, but a serious, 
earnest, profound desire to be faithful to obligations as- 
sumed in the sight of God and men, and to do, without 
fear or favor, what conscience dictated in obedience to 
those obligations" (Professor Francis Brown, on the floor 
of the assembly). 



Lin. 

Assemblies, 1894-1897. 

Assemblies, 1894-1897. — The General Assembly of 1894 
met at Saratoga Springs on May 23d of that year. Rev. 
Dr. Samuel A. Mutchmore was elected moderator. In 
course of a correspondence since 1875 ( see P- 4$5)> over- 
tures had been made in respect to organic union with the 
Presbyterian Church South. In answer to these overtures 
a telegram was received at Saratoga, which, after wish- 
ing the assembly "Godspeed," said: "We regard it un- 
wise to reopen the question of organic union." In view of 
this statement, the assembly resolved: "That while this 
assembly accepts the action of the Presbyterian Church 
in the United States, of which it has been notified, as 
sufficiently indicating the wisdom of suspending for the 
present everything like overtures looking to a union with 
that body, it desires to put on record its expression of 
regret for such suspension." {Minutes 1894, p. 140.) 

Case of Professor Smith. — Professor Henry Preserved 
Smith of Lane Theological Seminary published a pamph- 
let, entitled "Biblical Scholarship and Inspiration." Ex- 
ception was taken by' the Presbytery of Cincinnati to 
certain views expressed therein, and in consequence Pro- 
fessor Smith was brought to trial and suspended by a vote 
of thirty-one to twenty-seven from the ministry (August, 
1892), "until he renounces his errors and promises no 
longer to teach or propagate them." The following July 
Professor Smith resigned his chair in the seminary and 
afterward, in the autumn of the same year, the Synod of 



546 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Ohio approved the decision of the presbytery, and the fol- 
lowing year (1894) the General Assembly, in session at 
Saratoga, also approved the same sentence. 

The General Assembly of 1895 met in Pittsburg. Dr. 
Robert Russell Booth of New York was elected mod- 
erator. The report of the Committee on Financial Af- 
fairs said: "We are sorry to note that the debt is larger 
than ever before. It has reached the portentious amount 
in round numbers of $365,000." The sessions of the 
assembly in discussing and acting upon the routine busi- 
ness of the church were remarkably harmonious. A spirit 
of hopefulness and trust seemed to pervade the entire 
assembly. All were anxious to promote the cause of re- 
ligion by having the church, as soon as possible, relieved of 
the incubus of the oppressive debt. 

Comparison of Statistics. — We may obtain a fair idea 
of the progress of the church by comparing its statistics 
at different periods. We here introduce a comparison in 
order to ascertain that progress during ten years. Ac- 
cording to the minutes of the respective general assem- 
blies we find in those of 1886 the number of synods was 
26; presbyteries, 199; ministers, 5546; churches, 6281; 
admitted on examination, 51,177; communicants, 661,889; 
attendance of Sabbath-school scholars, 743,565 ; and total 
contributions, $10,502,331. In 1896, synods, 31; pres- 
byteries, 224 ; ministers, 6942 ; churches, 7573 ; admitted 
on examination, 64,806; communicants, 943,716; attend- 
ance of Sabbath-school scholars, 1,006,391 ; and total con- 
tributions, $14,149,477. In this connection it is proper 
to note that in 1893 a universal depression in the indus- 
trial and financial affairs of the country began, and which 
had not come to an end in 1896. 

The one hundred and ninth General Assembly, on May 
20, 1897, met in the Winona Assembly Grounds, Eagle 
Lake, Indiana. Rev. Dr. Sheldon Jackson was elected 



ASSEMBLIES, 1894-1897. 547 

moderator, and the Hon. John Wanamaker vice-mod- 
erator. 

Increased Contributions. — During the previous eccle- 
siastical year a gradual improvement was made in the 
industrial and commercial interests of the Nation, and in 
consequence the private members were enabled to increase 
their contributions to the benevolent institutions of the 
church. The reports of the standing committees and of 
the secretaries showed, also, an increased progress in the 
operations of all the boards of the church. It was re- 
ported that during the past year (1896) 13,300 persons 
were received into its fellowship by our home mission- 
aries. 

The following is a summary of the condition of the 
church during the ecclesiastical year of 1896: Synods, 
32; presbyteries, 229; ministers, 7129; churches, 7631; 
added on examination, 57,011; communicants, 990,911; 
Sunday-school members, 1,024,462; contributions, $13,- 
298,151. 

The Rule — Home Missions. — This assembly adopted 
the following rule, which is of special interest to the theo- 
logical students of the church, and also indirectly to its 
private members : "Candidates for licensure in addition 
to the examination required by Chap XIV., Sec. 4, of the 
Form of Government shall be diligently examined in the 
English Bible and shall be required to exhibit a good 
knowledge of its contents and of the relation of its sepa- 
rate parts and portions to each other. The General As- 
sembly further directed that this rule shall be known as 
Constitutional Rule No. 2, and shall be appended to the 
Constitution of the Church. {Minutes, p. 119.) 

The General Assembly took action in respect to home 
missions in the following order: "That the Board of 
Home Missions be directed to reorganize its methods of 
administration that the executive work shall be placed in 



548 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

charge of one secretary, with whatever assistants may be 
necessary, and that he be accountable to the board for its 
faithful and efficient management." (Min., p. 56.) 

Effect for Good on Two Lines. — The assembly made 
declaration that it had "learned with profound satisfac- 
tion" that a number of associations of the secular press 
had "expressed their sympathy with the women's move- 
ment for the promotion of purity in literature and art, as 
tending to maintain a Christian standard of morality in 
society;" and also that these associations, as "the best 
friends of humanity," had pledged themselves to exclude 
from their publications "all impure advertisements." 
(Min., p. 84.) 

It will surely not be deemed out of place by the Chris- 
tian patriot to notice that, while the General Assembly 
was in session, Congress at Washington was enacting, 
for the first time in our history, a financial measure in 
which "all persons were prohibited from importing into 
the United States from any foreign country, any obscene 
book, pamphlet, advertisement" [here follows a long enu- 
meration of prohibited articles] "or anything of an im- 
moral nature." (Tariff of 1897, Schedule N, Sec. io, 
under 672.) 

An Eventful Period. — During the thi ee- fourths of the 
century just closing (1899) great advances were made 
by Christian scholars in the study of the Bible, while the 
religious knowledge of the church members themselves 
were meanwhile proportionately rising to a higher plane. 
The elaborate works in elucidation of the Bible, that were 
published in Europe and America, were in number be- 
yond precedent. Explorations, meantime, were begun and 
are still in progress in the Holy Land, in Assyria, and in 
Egypt, whose findings have corroborated the historical 
statements of the Bible, wherever the latter have been 
touched upon. Within this period came the Civil War, 



ASSEMBLIES, 1 894- 1 89 7. 549 

with its demoralizing effects upon the spirituality of the 
churches, and which left to them as a legacy an en- 
larged field for domestic missions in the form of the re- 
ligious wants of the freedmen. The division of the Pres- 
byterian Church also took place, which lasted thirty-two 
years, when a reunion was welcomed by all its members. 
Within these years a revision of the English version of 
the Bible was made, on which learned theologians and 
linguists of England and the United States labored as- 
siduously, and produced the most perfect translation from 
the original tongues of the Bible that was ever made into 
English or any modern language. This revision was the 
occasion of creating an unusual interest in the Bible in 
the Presbyterian Church, and also in the other Protest- 
ant denominations. Meantime, preliminary measures were 
introduced by the General Assembly in respect to a re- 
vision of the Confession of Faith. That purpose is still 
held in abeyance ; the committee having reported progress 
from time to time. 

It would seem as if designed as an antidote for the de- 
moralizing influence of the Civil War, that within a few 
years after its close a new impulse for studying the Bible 
was given the children and youth of Protestant parents. 
This gift was the introduction of the International Sun- 
day-school Lessons. This comprehensive system of Bib- 
lical instruction recognizes the Old Testament, and gives 
it due attention, as the forerunner of the New. The inti- 
mate connection with the contents of the latter of the 
Old Testament history, prophecies, and sublime truths 
are pointed out in such manner as to impress with their 
importance the minds of these youth. 

How marvelous has been the blessed and stimulating 
influence of this uniform course of Bible study ; beginning 
in the infant class and systematically carried on in va- 
ried stages, till all the youth are reached. One grand 



550 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

result is seen in the societies known as the "Christian 
Endeavor." These associations have been efficient in- 
struments in harmonizing truly Christian sentiments and 
in uniting the youth of the several Protestant denomina- 
tions in religious sympathy one with another throughout 
the land, and in promoting a spirit of a Christianized pa- 
triotism that aids in cementing a national friendship in all 
sections of the Union. This good influence will not be 
limited, alone, to the young people of this generation, for 
when they themselves become heads of families they will 
surely train their children up to a still higher plane of a 
Christianized civilization. 



LIV. 

Assemblies of 1898, 1899, 1900. 

The General Assembly met in its one hundred and 
tenth session on May 19, 1898, in the auditorium of the 
Winona Assembly Grounds, Winona Lake, Indiana. 

It was opened by a sermon by the retiring moderator, 
Rev. Sheldon Jackson, D.D., LL.D., a veteran missionary 
of the Presbytery of Alaska. The Rev. Wallace Radclirle 
of the Presbytery of Washington, D. C., was elected mod- 
erator. The Hon. James A. Mount, Governor of the State 
of Indiana, made an appropriate address of welcome to 
the assembly, which was replied to by the moderator in 
similar terms. 

The assembly was cheered by the reports concerning 
the gradual diminution of the debt that had been retard- 
ing the progress of the church since 1894, and by the pros- 
pect that it would entirely disappear before the meeting of 
the assembly in 1899. 

The reports of the respective standing committees on 
the numerous enterprises of the church were, upon the 
whole, encouraging. The sessions of the assembly were 
pervaded by a spirit of harmony among the members that 
was cheering to the heart of brotherly love. Two subjects 
that pertain, also, to the outside world were noticed. The 
cause of temperance received a hearty commendation, 
while the increasing desecration of the Sabbath in certain 
portions of the land was heartily condemned, and the 
members of the church were urged most earnestly to ob- 



552 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

i 

serve the sacredness of the day as a boon to man, since it 
was made for him. 

Overtures on the subject of biennial or triennial meet- 
ings of the General Assembly have been presented occa^ 
sionally to that body for a number of years, and after a 
brief discussion were answered in accordance with recom-% 
mendation of the committee, that no action be taken. To 
this assembly came eight overtures on the subject, and it 
thought proper to give some reasons why the present cus- 
tom of annual sessions should be continued. One reason 
was that "our system of administration in connection 
with the great causes of missions and benevolence has 
been organized upon the basis o>f the annual meetings of 
the assembly. To change our system in this respect would 
require a radical change in the plans of management of 
the several boards. . . . The assembly constitutes 
the bond of union, peace, correspondence, and mutual 
confidence among our churches. . . . Our system of 
government is intended among other things to conserve 
the rights and privileges of every minister and member 
of the church. . . . The proposed change — to a tri- 
ennial meeting — would of necessity involve such a read- 
justment of our judicial system as would [virtually] 
deny to an appellant the right to be heard by the whole 
church . . . such a denial of right, when conjoined with 
a proposed grievous delay in reaching a decision, would 
be contrary to both justice and equity." (Min., p. 131.) 
The assembly might have added that coming together 
once a year of the representative men of the church — min- 
isters and elders — would elicit the sympathy of the in- 
telligent private members of the church throughout the 
Union and indirectly cherish a patriotism based on Chris- 
tian and fraternal principles. 

It is a sad feature of these minutes that the reports 
show so little gain to the membership from the world on 






ASSEMBLIES OF 1898-1899. 553 

examination; such increase was only thirty persons more 
than were recorded of 1897; while the increase in the 
number of adult baptisms was only twenty-two. The in- 
crease in Sunday-school attendance was nearly ten thou- 
sand, and that in contributions was $205,410; admitted on 
examination, 57,041 ; number of communicants, 975,877. 
The General Assembly of 1899. — Met in its one hun- 
dred and eleventh year on the 18th of May, 1899, in the 
city of Minneapolis. It was opened in the usual manner 
by the retiring moderator, Rev. Wallace Radclirle, D.D., 
of Washington, D. C. The Rev. Robert F. Sample, D.D., 
LL.D., of the Presbytery of New York was elected mod- 
erator. Dr. Sample appointed Dr. Loyal Y. Graham of the 
Presbytery of Philadelphia, vice-moderator. 

The assembly entered upon its labors with hearts full 
of gratitude, that in the providence of God, the boards of 
the church were no longer trammeled in their work by a 
debt which had been an incumbrance since the session of 
1894. 

This assembly of 624 members in attendance was noted 
for being composed of an unusually large number of regu- 
lar pastors and of elders who were deeply and intelli- 
gently interested in all the works of the church. The 
several discussions showed, incidentally, no lack of the 
power of debate and of comprehensive views on the vari- 
ous phases of the ecclesiastical matters that came before 
the assembly. The session was comparatively a short one, 
the members being remarkably harmonious in their action 
upon the measures that demanded their earnest attention. 
A hopeful missionary spirit seemed to pervade the entire 
body. It put on record its steadfast adherence to the 
fundamental and evangelical doctrines of the gospel as 
derived from Holy Scripture and embodied in the stand- 
ards of the church. 

A most cheering feature of the narrative of the state 
37 



554 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

of religion in the church presented to the assembly was 
the manifest increased interest in the systematic study of 
the Holy Scriptures, especially by the young people of the 
church in Bible classes and Sunday-schools. The good 
work of the women of the church was shown to be effect- 
ive and followed by the blessing of the Master. The at- 
tention of pastors and sessions and presbyteries was di- 
rected to their respective duties to foster and encourage 
and keep in sympathy with the young people's organiza- 
tions within their bounds. 

When compared with the reports in the minutes of the 
previous year it found that the number admitted to the 
church on examination was 8782 less than in 1898 — why 
this decrease the members of the whole church may well 
inquire. The number of communicants was increased 
by 8030, and the contributions by $274,156. The as- 
sembly dissolved to meet in St. Louis, Missouri, on the 
third Thursday of May, 1900. 

The General Assembly of 1900. — The General Assembly 
of 1900 met on the 17th of May of that year, in the 
city of St. Louis, Missouri. It was opened in the usual 
manner, the retiring Moderator, Rev. Dr. Robert F. 
Sample, of the Presbytery of New York, preaching the 
sermon ; after which the Rev. Dr. Charles A. Dickey, 
of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, was chosen Mod- 
erator. 

As an indication of the views of church members 
in respect to a revision of the Confession of Faith, 
thirty-eight Presbyteries sent overtures to this Assembly, 
asking for such revision in some form or the formula- 
tion of a creed more brief. In consequence, a committee 
was appointed, consisting of fifteen members — eight min- 
isters and seven laymen — to which, by special vote, was 
added the present Moderator as chairman. 

This committee was instructed to canvass the subject 



ASSEMBLIES OF 1898, 1899, I9OO. 555 

of revision and report to the General Assembly of 1901 
"what specific action, if any, should be taken by the 
Church." The Presbyteries were invited by the Assembly 
" to take action on this subject at their approaching fall 
meetings, and through the Assembly's Stated Clerk to 
report said action to the committee." 

A change was made by which the appointment of 
Standing Committees — there are twenty-two — was 
vested in the Assembly itself, instead of in the Moder- 
ator, who may call to his aid the clerks. 

The Rev. Dr. William B. Noble, of California, was 
elected Permanent Clerk, to fill the place of Rev. Dr. 
William E. Moore, lately deceased. The Assembly dis- 
solved, and that of 1901 was directed to meet in Phila- 
delphia on the third Thursday of May of that year. 

Patriots — Both Citizen and Christian. — The progress of 
the church is indicated by its statistics. These include its 
appropriate religious work, the latter's success or other- 
wise, and as a means thereto its financial condition must 
be good. The last mentioned element of success is in this 
day essential, and how to secure it is well worthy the at- 
tention of church members of every denomination as 
Christian citizens as well as patriots, since monetary af- 
fairs are so liable to be affected by political measures. The 
financial and industrial policies of the general govern- 
ment extend their influence throughout the land, and 
are, therefore, a great power for evil or for good in re- 
spect to the support of the institutions of the church, thus 
indirectly promoting or retarding its legitimate opera- 
tions. Unfortunately, in our time, too many intelligent 
Christians of the different denominations are quite often 
derelict as citizens in not fully realizing that it is their 
duty to inform themselves in relation to the financial and 
kindred measures of the government, in order that they 
may vote intelligently should there be mismanagement in 



556 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

consequence of incompetent men being in control of pub- 
lic affairs. Much more is it incumbent upon all the citi- 
zens to rouse themselves to counteract the evil. Church 
members should recognize their obligations to the country, 
as citizens and patriots, and never shirk the responsibility 
which rests upon them in proportion to their influence — 
be it great or small. 

It is an undeniable fact that the financial policy of the 
National Government always affects more or less the vari- 
ous industries of the people, thus indirectly retarding or 
promoting the progress of the church, especially in its 
benevolent operations. For illustration, the reports to the 
General Assembly in a certain year really contain the re- 
sults of the one immediately preceding; thus the report 
of the total contributions credited to the year 1893, in 
truth, were those of 1892. The amount contributed, 
though credited to 1893, was the largest ever recorded in 
the annals of the Presbyterian Church. Strange to say, 
the following year (1893) the amount contributed fell off 
nearly one million dollars, as told in the reports of 1894, 
and in consequence all the boards of the church were over- 
whelmed with debt. The managers of the latter had 
based, and that reasonably, their financial estimates on 
the contributions of 1892, and in a proportionate ratio 
had extended their operations. 

A similar result was produced in a greater or less de- 
gree in the contributions of the churches of all the other 
denominations in the Union. In this instance a depres- 
sion in almost every industry prevailed, a lowering of 
wages, and likewise a lack of opportunity for employment, 
and in consequence an unusual diminution of incomes. 
Such facts indicate that it is the duty of the members of 
the churches of all denominations, as Christians and pa- 
triotic citizens, not to shirk their responsibility, but con- 
scientiously make it an object to inform themselves in re- 



ASSEMBLIES OF 1898, 1899, I9OO. 557 

spect to what may be the present or prospective political 
and financial policies of the Nation, in order that they 
may vote intelligently. Let all church members of the 
various denominations promote a Christianised patriotism, 
whose principles permeate the people at large. 



LV. 

General Assemblies of 1901, 1902, and 1903. 

General Assembly — 1901. 

The one hundred and thirteenth General Assembly 
of the Presbyterian Church met in Calvary Presbyterian 
Church, Philadelphia, Pa., Thursday, May 16, 1901, at 
11 o'clock a.m. It was opened with a sermon by the 
Moderator, Rev. Dr. Charles A. Dickey. After the 
usual routine of preliminary business, the Assembly 
chose the Rev. Henry Collin Minton, D.D., of the 
Presbytery of San Francisco, Moderator. 

The whole number of commissioners to the Assembly 
of 1901 was 652 — the ministers, 336, and elders, 316. 

One of the best evidences of the spiritual progress 
of the church is the number admitted to membership 
from the outside world; of this class, 54,252 were re- 
ported to the Assembly, though it is a sad feature that 
it was 2931 less than was reported to the Assembly of 
1900. The number of ministers reported was 7532 ; 
this was 65 more than in 1900. The whole number of 
communicants was 1,025,388 — that was 17,699 more 
than in 1900. 

The Sunday-school members numbered 1,058,110 — a 
slight gain on 1900. 

The total amount of contributions was $16,338,376 
— $1,284,075 more than in 1900. 

The important subject of a revision of the Confession 
of Faith had been earnestly discussed in the judicatures 



GENERAL ASSEMBLIES OF I9OI, 1902, AND 1903. 559 

of the church and in the church papers for a number 
of years, and the Assembly of 1900 appointed a com- 
mittee on the subject, which was enjoined to report to 
the General Assembly of 1901. In accordance with the 
recommendation of this committee the Moderator ap- 
pointed one of fifteen members — eight ministers and 
seven elders — "to consider the whole matter of the re- 
statement of the doctrines most surely believed among 
us, and which are substantially embodied in our Con- 
fession of Faith." (Min., p. 102.) This committee was 
directed to report to the Assembly of 1902. 

This committee entered earnestly upon its work, and 
held a number of meetings during the year. It sub- 
mitted a number of questions to the Presbyteries, on 
which it asked their opinions. The answers to these 
questions came to hand quite promptly, thus manifest- 
ing the interest of the Presbyteries in the subject. 
These answers were canvassed at two or three special 
meetings held for the purpose. The general result was 
summed up as follows: 

"These answers indicate that it is the mind of the 
church that the Confession shall be interpreted through- 
out in harmony with the teaching of Scripture . . . 
and that a plurality of the Presbyteries desire that 
changes should be made by some new statement of 
present doctrines." 

The committee — now raised to twenty-one members — 
was instructed to prepare amendments to a designated 
number of chapters and sections in the Confession, and 
also statements concerning the love of God, Missions, 
and the Holy Spirit, and in addition, "a brief statement 
of the Reformed Faith, expressed as far as possible 
in untechnical terms." The latter instruction was car- 
ried out in a series of items, consisting of sixteen in 
number, in which the system or plan of salvation was 



560 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

presented in scriptural terms. In this revision the 
interest of the whole church was specially centered. 

A committee was instructed to make arrangements 
for the celebration of the centennial of the formation 
of Home Missions. 

The reports of the several standing committees showed 
that the progress of the church was equal to that of 
former years, but not so advanced as every intelligent 
Presbyterian would pray for and wish. The committee 
on "The Twentieth Century Movement" was continued 
and enjoined to report to the Assembly of 1902. 

General Assembly — 1902. 

The one hundred and fourteenth General Assembly 
of the Presbyterian Church met in the Fifth Avenue 
Presbyterian Church, New York City, Thursday, May 
15, 1902, at 11 o'clock a.m. It was opened with a ser- 
mon by the Moderator, Rev. Henry Collin Minton, 
D.D. After the usual routine of preliminary business, 
the Assembly chose the Rev. Dr. Henry Van Dyke, of 
the Presbytery of New Brunswick, Moderator. 

The whole number of commissioners to the Assembly 
of 1902 was 659 — 335 ministers and 324 elders. In 
addition were fourteen corresponding members and eight 
corresponding delegates. Of the latter were two from 
the Presbyterian Church in Mexico, t wo from the Alli- 
ance of the Reformed Churches holding the Presby- 
terian system, one from the Reformed Church in Amer- 
ica, tzvo from the Methodist Episcopal Church, and one 
from the Reformed Episcopal Church; also four ad- 
visory members from Mission Stations. Thus making 
the whole number in attendance 690. 

There were added to the church on examination 
65,889, that being 11,637 more than in 1901 ; the whole 



GENERAL ASSEMBLIES OF 1901, 1902, AND I903. 561 

number of communicants, 1,045,338 — that is, 19,950 
more than in 1901 ; ministers, 7617 — that is, 155 more 
than in 1901. Sunday-school members, 1,063,683 — that 
is, 5573 more than in 1901. Candidates for the min- 
istry, 810 — 107 less than in 1901. 

There are thirty-two (1902) Synods and 230 Pres- 
byteries. The entire amount of contributions was 
$17,080,191 — that is, $741,875 more than in 1901. 

The nineteen standing committees, who, in assigned 
divisions, supervise the varied work of the church dur- 
ing the ecclesiastical year, made their respective reports 
to the Assembly. These reports were severally acted 
upon by the Assembly, as they covered in their field of 
view every phase of the operations of the church. 

The whole church was more deeply interested than 
in any previous period in the question of Confessional 
revision. The Revision Committee, in accordance with 
the instructions of the Assembly of 1901, made a report, 
which included the committee's revision of the chapters 
and of the sections of the Confession designated by the 
last Assembly. It also prepared a statement, "so as 
more clearly to express the mind of the church, con- 
cerning the love of God for all men, Missions, and the 
Holy Spirit" — statements to be incorporated in the 
Confession by separate chapters. And, on the same 
line, a "brief statement of the Reformed Faith expressed 
as far as possible in untechnical terms.' , 

This statement was prepared in order to give infor- 
mation and a better understanding of our beliefs, and 
not with a view to its becoming a substitute for or an 
alternative of our Confession of Faith, or "with the 
view of becoming a test of orthodoxy for ministers, 
elders, and deacons." 

The injunction of the Assembly of 1901 in respect to 
the statement of the Reformed Faith was that it should 



562 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

"in no way impair the integrity of the system of doctrine 
set forth in our Confession and taught in the Holy 
Scriptures." 

The brief statement of the Reformed Faith, consisting 
of sixteen articles, as prepared by the committee, was 
designed to cover the whole field of Christian doctrine 
as known and held by the Reformed or Protestant 
Faith. 

The report of the committee was accepted and adopted 
by the Assembly in a burst of enthusiasm — only two 
negatives were heard, and one of them withdrew his 
vote. 

The committee on evangelistic work, appointed by 
the Assembly of 1901, made an elaborate report, and, in 
accordance with its suggestions, the Assembly "recom- 
mends to the theological seminaries that arrangements 
be made for instruction in evangelistic methods," and 
also it "emphasizes the primary responsibility of evan- 
gelistic effort as resting upon pastors and sessions. 
. . . Yet the Assembly "recognizes the use and value 
of accredited evangelists, and, therefore, authorizes the 
committee to pass upon their qualifications and to 
recommend them to the churches." 

The Assembly decided to hold the Assembly of 1903 
in Immanuel Church in Los Angeles, Cal. 

General Assembly — 1903. 

The General Assembly of 1903 met in its one hundred 
and fifteenth session in Immanuel Presbyterian Church 
in Los Angeles, Cal., on Thursday, May 21, 1903. It 
was opened by a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Henry Van 
Dyke, the Moderator. His theme was "Knowing and 
Doing; Joy and Power" (John xiii. 17). 

The Assembly was constituted by prayer, and after 



GENERAL ASSEMBLIES OF 1901, 1902, AND 1903. 563 

the roll-call and other preliminary business, the Rev. 
Dr. Robert F. Coyle, of the Presbytery of Denver, was 
elected Moderator. 

The roll-call revealed the fact that in respect to the 
number of commissioners this was the largest Assembly 
ever held — that number being 680. 

The Rev. Dr. William Henry Roberts, the Stated 
Clerk, announced on the important question of creed 
revision that all the eleven amendments to the Con- 
fession of Faith, as reported from the Assembly of 1902, 
had been adopted by more than the requisite number 
of Presbyteries. 

Of the standing committees, the first to report was 
that on Sabbath observance. The report was adopted, 
the Assembly passing the following resolution: "The 
General Assembly hereby expresses its strong and em- 
phatic disapproval of all secular uses of the day, all 
games and sports, all social functions, all traveling for 
pleasure, all excursions by land or water . . . all 
uses of this day to promote secular interests." 

This Assembly will be noted for the culmination of 
an unusual advance made by the church during the pre- 
vious three years. The entrance upon the twentieth 
century was signalized by an impulse toward fulfilling 
the great mission of the church. Measures were taken 
to inaugurate a financial measure known as the "Twen- 
tieth Century Fund;" the design being, among other 
objects, to induce the churches to free themselves from 
pecuniary embarrassments, which certainly hinder their 
spiritual interests. The movement was also to furnish 
funds in aid of the missions of the church — both Home 
and Foreign — and to promote the cause of education 
of every grade, but more especially that of collegiate 
and theological. The reports of the several standing 
committees on the subjects assigned to them showed, 



564 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

with only one exception, and that a small one, they 
were all free from debt. 

The progress of the church is thus indicated: Added 
on examination, 63,318; the communicants number 
1,059,130; Sabbath-school scholars, 1,066,399; contribu- 
tions for congregational purposes, $13,075,456 ; for Mis- 
sions, Home and Foreign, $2,111,532; including other 
items, the whole amount was between $17,000,000 and 
$18,000,000. 

The Evangelistic Committee appointed by the Assem- 
bly of 1901 was continued, its success during the past 
being very encouraging. The Rev. Dr. J. Wilber Chap- 
man was appointed corresponding secretary, with the 
purpose of devoting all his time to the work. The 
committees, special workers, pastors who during the 
year devoted a portion of their time to the cause, held 
special services in fifty-two important places within the 
boundary of the church and also in eight theological 
seminaries. There were in all fifty-one evangelists thus 
engaged; meanwhile was distributed a large amount of 
appropriate literature. The committee kept itself in 
touch, by means of correspondence, with pastors 
throughout the church, thus eliciting an unusual inter- 
est in the evangelist services. 

The Assembly took a decided stand against the crime 
of polygamy, among others, in the following resolution : 
"This Assembly calls upon the people and Congress of 
the United States to employ and exhaust all legal means 
to secure such an amendment to the Federal Constitu- 
tion as shall define legal marriage as monogamic, and 
make polygamy under every guise and practice a crime 
against the United States." 

The Assembly took note of the interests of the young 
people in their societies and Sabbath-schools within the 
Presbyterian Church, and, because of their importance, 



GENERAL ASSEMBLIES OF I9OI, I902, AND 1903. 565 

recommended that the sessions of their respective 
churches have special supervision of their welfare. It 
is proper to remark that the Christian Endeavor organi- 
zation should likewise be cherished, not merely as a 
Christian, but also as a patriotic association, because 
of its bringing into closer sympathy the young people 
of all the Protestant denominations of the Union on 
the basis of a reception of the essential soul-saving doc- 
trines of the gospel. Such a movement is vastly impor- 
tant in a nation constituted as ours, wherein should 
prevail a spirit of harmony and friendly intercourse 
between the different sections of the country in order 
that its Christian and patriotic citizens might be drawn 
into fraternal sympathy with one another. 

The reports from "The Women's Boards and So- 
cieties" showed that their work of the year had mani- 
fested their usual untiring zeal in the cause of the gen- 
eral interests of the church. 

At the commencement of this century the movement 
for the Revision of the Confession of Faith was re- 
newed. The Assembly of 1900 appointed an excellent 
committee on the subject. This committee, to which 
other members were added, was continued, and reported 
to the Assemblies of 1901 and 1902. The latter referred 
the last report of the committee to the Presbyteries for 
their action thereon, who in due time acted upon the 
report and accepted the eleven amendments by a large 
majority. Final action was taken upon the revision 
when the Assembly of 1903, by a rising and unanimous 
vote, sanctioned the decision of the Presbyteries. Thus 
was happily brought to an end an agitation in the 
church which had lasted for about fifteen years. At 
which result the enthusiasm of the Assembly burst forth 
in a song of thanksgiving accompanied by many tears 
of joy. The changes were made in accordance with the 



566 A HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

phraseology current in our day — clearly expressed and 
easily understood. 

Thus was set forth the Pauline doctrines of the gos- 
pel as associated with the term Calvinistic. These doc- 
trines were formerly couched in theological forms of 
expression current among the Reformed Churches two 
hundred and fifty years ago, and which at that time 
were deemed appropriate. 

Dr. Henry Van Dyke voiced the sentiments of the 
Assembly in his address, as chairman of the Committee 
of Revision, when he said: "This revision does not mean 
that the Presbyterian Church has changed her base one 
inch; but it does mean that she has broadened and 
strengthened her foundations. Her divine sovereignty 
should never be interpreted so as to mean fatalism." 

With this we quote the words of the Stated Clerk 
of the Assembly, the Rev. Dr. William Henry Roberts : 
"The Presbyterian Church has not been for twenty 
years in a better condition than it is to-day for the great 
work to which it has been called of God." 

The Assembly appointed a committee to take into 
consideration the subject of Bible study in the home, 
in education, and in the Sunday-school. It is to report 
to the next Assembly. 

A partial report of a special committee on divorce 
and remarriage was adopted, "favoring every lawful 
endeavor to correct the evils of lax legislation" and "to 
secure such uniformity of legislation as may best pro- 
mote the purity of society." The committee was con- 
tinued. 

After a remarkably short session of a week and a day 
the Assembly dissolved, the next one to meet on the 
third Thursday of May, 1904, in the Lafayette Avenue 
Presbyterian Church, in Buffalo, N. Y. 



INDEX. 



Abbreviated Creeds, 457. 
Adams, William, 500. 
Accessions from Other Bodies, 301. 
Act and Testimony, 42o v 421, 424. 
Adopting Act, 113, 114. 
Allen, William, 285, 286. 
Alexander, Archibald, 129, 250, 337. 
" James W. and Addison, 

251. 
American B'd of Mes., 342, 343. 
Andros, Gov., 75. 
Apostolic Succession, 24-26, 52, 59, 

64. 
Assembly, Gen. (Scotland), 40. 
'* Westminster, 50-58. 
44 General Constituted, 207, 

240. 
Assembly, Ratio of Representatives, 

35i- 
Assembly, Triennial, etc., 477, 478. 
Association, Gen., of Conn., 237, 

433* 435, 44i > 442. 
Association, Missionary Amer., 469. 

Badger, Joseph, 232, 295, 297. 
Balch, Hezekiah, 135, 216. 
Baltimore, Lord, 78. 
Baker, Daniel, 276, 277, 505, 507. 
Baptists, 107, 177, 186, 187. 
Barnes, Albert, 399. 

" Trials, 400-405, 406, 415. 
Barr, Thomas, 294. 
Beall, Ninian, Colonel (Elder), 80. 
Beecher, Lyman, 244, 268, 320, 395, 

415, 448. 
Beliefs, Harmony of, 34. 
Beman, N. S. S., 448, 451. 
Berkeley, Sir. Wm., 77, 169. 
Bible, Translations of, 10, 45. 
Bishops, 3, 17, 23, 40. 

" Romanizing, 33, 36, 64, 99. 

44 Genuine, 60. 
Blackburn, Gideon, 221, 327, 336, 363. 
Booth, Robert R., 546. 
Bray, Thomas, 94, 95. 
Breckinridge, Robert J., 422, 436, 

439. 502. 
Bribery and Trickery, ior. 
Brown, Prof. Francis, 544. 
" Matthew, 134, 324, 325. 



Briggs, Charles Augustus, Trials of 
5"-542. 

Caldwell, John, 137. 
Calvin, John, 7, 16, 30, 32. 
Campbell, Col. (Elder), 145. 
Camp Meetings, 228, 347. 
Carnahan, James, 282, 283. 
Carrick, Samuel, 219, 221, 332. 
Cavaliers, 77, 162, 196, 218. 
Chamberlain, Jeremiah, 374. 
Church, Rom. Catholic, 13, 213. 
u Gov. of, 15, 16, 63. 
44 1st in Cincinnati, 29r. 
" 1st New Orleans, 315. 
" Culdee, The, 43-45. 
" Primitive, Self-Supporting, 
28, 29. 
Church, Migrating, A, 276, 334. 
44 1 st Founded in Tenn., 220. 
44 Separated from the State, 
Va., 159, 175-190- 
Church, Freedom from Clannish- 

ness, 165. 
Church and State, 6, 28, 30, 171. 
44 Congregational, 70, 71, 89, 
156, 240, 481, 483. 
Church of Special Interest, 370. 
11 of England, Established, 171. 
44 Rates How Levied, 143, 164, 
171. 
Cincinnati Founded, 290. 
Civil Court Trials, 454, 455. 
Colleges (Log), in, 117, 118, 127- 

136. 
Colleges, Princeton, 118, 130; Jeffer- 
son, 133; Washington, 132, S. 
Hanover, 3T9; Maryville, 333; 
Center, 336 ; Blackburn Unv. , 363. 
Colony, Virginia, 68. 

" Plymouth, 68. 
Commotions, Civil (in England), 59. 
Committee, Ad Interim, 459, 466, 

478. 
Committee, Church Extension, 467. 

" Standing, 242. 

" Publication, Pres., 467. 

14 on Reunion, 483. 

Committeemen, 386, 388, 446. 
Confessions of Faith, 31, 33-35. 



567 



568 



INDEX. 



Confessions, Westminster, 55-59. 

" Revision Desired, 491. 

Co-operation, Difficulties of, 467, 474. 
Cornbury, Lord, 96, 100, 101. 
Cornelius, Elias, 339, 341. 
Contrast in Creeds and Discipline, 

384, 385. 
Conventions, Called, 422, 423, 431, 

433, 436, 448. 
Conventions, Congregational, 478, 

481. 
Cox, Samuel Hanson, 448. 
Craig, John, 153. 
» Prof., 536. 
Craighead, Alexander, 144. 
Cromwell, Oliver, 38, 61, 62, 64, 70. 
Cummings, Charles, 216. 
Cutler, Manassah, 289. 

Davies, Samuel, 118, 140, 168, 171. 
Dean, Milman (quoted), 26. 

" Stanley (quoted), 26, 496. 
Denton, Richard, 73. 
Derrow, Nathan B. , 356. 
Despotism, Ecclesiastical, 213. 
Detroit, Religions, etc., 375. 
Dickey, J. M. (Father), 355, 356. 
Dickinson, Baxter, 434, 457. 

44 Jonathan, 115, 117, 118. 
Difficulties, Attending Assemblies, 

443.444- 
Dissenters, 77, 99, 161, 179, 184, 

185, 189, 191, 194. 
Divine Right for Ch. Gov., 62, 63. 
Doak, Samuel, 135. 
Doughty, Francis, 72, 81. 
Duelling, 268. 
Duffield, George, 408. 
Durand, Wm. (Elder), 80. 
Dutch Liberality, 72, 74. 

Education, Ministerial, 166, 172, 

266, 303. 
Education, Funds for, 119. 
Edwards, Jonathan, 151, 160. 
Elders, 2, 4, 12. 
Eldership Introduced, 97. 
Elective Affinity, 401, 424. 
Elliott, David, 434, 450. 
Ellis, J. M., 361,362. 
Ely, Ezra Stiles, 254, 366. 
Emigrations to Colonies, 66. 
Englishmen's Rights, 9, 11. 
Episcopalians, 177, 183, 184. 
Errors in Doctrine, 436. 
44 Acted Upon, 441. 
Estimate, Appreciative, An, 263. 
Evangelists, 504. 
Exiles to Geneva, 16. 
Ex-officio Members, 211. 



Ex-officio, Action of, 343; the Effect, 

387. 
44 the Principal of, 237, 391, 

424, 434, 441, 459. 

Faith, Confessions of, 31, 34, 35. 

44 Westminster, 55-59. 

44 Guarding the, 112, 114, 210. 
Finley, Robert, 251, 252, 281. 

44 James, 261. 
Finney, Chas. S., 395, 417. 
Fisher, Samuel, 451. 
Fletcher, Gov., 104. 
Flint, Timothy, 367, 371, 373. 
Force, Religious, A, 27, 33. 
Foreign Miss. Soc, Western, 389. 
Fowler, Orin, 357. 
Fraternal Intercourse, 108. 
Frelinghugsen, Jacob, 150, 151. 
Froude (quoted), no. 

Gelston, James, 139. 
Giddings, Salmon, 367, 369, 370, 372. 
Gillet, E. H., 153. 
Gloucester, John, 336, 337. 
Gooch, Gov., 125, 137, 142, 153, 
Graham, Wm., 129. 
Griffen, Edw. D., 234, 250. 
Green, Ashbel, 250, 393, 399, 400, 
409, 422. 

Hall, Jas. W., 278. 
Hamilton, Alexander, 268. 
Harrison, Thomas, 79. 
Henderson, Robert, 216, 221. 
Henry VIII., 13, 14, 31. 
Heroic Age, The, 33. 
Herron, Francis, 271, 272. 
Hill, Matt, 81. 
Hodge, Charles, 165, 499. 
Hoge, Moses, 257, 273, 407. 
Holmes, Abiel, 276. 
Hubbard, John, 100. 
Hughes, Thomas E., 290. 
Huntsville, Ch. of, 315. 

Immigration, 287, 299. 

44 of Farmers, 356. 

Immigrants, Character of, 384. 
Independents, Unorganized, 37. 
Indians Removed, 329. 

44 Missions to, 327, 328. 
Influence, Leading Points of, 119. 

44 Retarding, 217. 
Infidelity, Type of, 221. 
Inglis, James, 281. 
Injudicious ordinations, 397. 
Instructions Transcended, 427. 
Intolerance, 161. 



INDEX. 



569 



James, King:, 38, 39- 

" His Motto, 41, 42. 
Jacobus, M. W., 407. 
Janeway, Jacob J., 252. 
Jefferson, Thomas, 177, 181, 190, 

191, 192, 225. 
Junkin, George, 402-404, 422. 
Jus Divinum, 29. 

Knox, John, 17, 31, 40. 

Laird, Robert M., 377. 

Landholdings, 76. 

Lamphier, Jeremiah, 470. 

Larned, Silvester, 339. 

Laud, Bishop, The, 51. 

Law Misapplied, 104. 

League and Covenant, 46, 51, 52. 

Lindsley, Philip, 315, 497-499. 

Little, Henry, 507-510. 

Luther, Martin, 27. 

Magna Charta, 9. 
Magill, Daniel, 138. 
Makemie, Francis, 82, 84. 

" Trial, 86, 87, 93, 317. 
Marietta Settled, 288, 289. 
Marquis, Thomas, 233, 260, 261. 
Mason, John M., 268, 389, 390. 
Marion, Francis, Gen., 145. 
Mary, Bloody, 32. 
Matthews, John, 319, 373, 374. 
Mechlenberg Declaration, 173. 
Meetings, Camp, 228. 
Memorial, Cincinnati, 398, 419, 420. 
Methodism, 150, 177. 
Monteith, John, 376. 
Morals, Clerical, 169. 
Moravians, 149. 

Morgan, Daniel, Gen. (Elder), 145. 
Morse, Jedekiah, 276, 377. 
McCurdy, Elisha, 231, 232. 
McCorcle, S. E., 278. 
McGready, James, 224, 228. 
McMillan, John, 133, 233, 258, 282, 

324- 
McLane, Wm. W., 336. 
McNish, Geo., 93, 101. 
McWhin, 316. 
Migrations, Lines of, 256. 

14 on Reason for, 371. 

Mills, Samuel J., 368. 
Missions, Interest in, 237. 

44 Funds for, 107. 

44 Board of, 302, 387, 453. 

,4 American B'd, 342, 380. 

44 Home, 353, 382. 
Missionary Areas Compared, 383. 

Names, Significant, 19. 
Nevins, William, 280. 
Nettleton, Asahel, 349, 395, 417. 



New Measures, 394. 

Old Side, New Side, 152, 153, 154, 

156, 157- 
Old School, New School, 458. 
Opinions, Change of, 424. 
Orders, Voting by, 212. 

Parity of the Ministry, 18, 21, 23, 29, 
51,66. 

Parties, The Two, 32. 

Pastor, The Term, 19. 

Patriotism, 192, 198, 214. 

Patterson, James, 254, 255. 
44 Robert M., 154. 

Patton, William, 450. 

People, The, a Voice on Ch. Gov., 11. 

Pcrrine, M. L. R., 247. 

Persecutors, Non, The, 21. 

Persecutions and Trials, 52. 

Peters, Absalom, 437. 

Pickens, Gen., 145. 

Pietists, The, 149, 150. 

Plan of Union, 238, 240, 424, 439. 
" " Abrogated, 436, 481. 

Plumer, Wm. S., 436, 437, 452. 

Pope, The, A Presbyter, 24. 

Population, Center of, 319, 320. 

Porter, Samuel, 259. 

Power, James, 260. 

Prayer, Free, 33. 

44 Meetings, 272, 277, 300. 

Prelatical Ch. Gov., 7, 15, 20. 

Prelates, Why Feared, 50. 

Presbytery, 1st (in England), 36, 37. 
44 Hanover, 175, 178, 182, 

184, 188. 

Presbytery, Redstone, 206; Transyl- 
vania, 206, 215; Abingdon, 214; 
S. Carolina, 88; Cumberland, 
230; First Philadelphia, 91, 92, 
(in 1706), 98; New York, 72; The 
Third of, 410; Philadelphia, 
Second, 402; Ohio, 134; Erie, 
297; Detroit, 378. 

Presbyterians, Origin of, in Va., 121- 
126. 

Presbyterians, The Name, 125. 
" Why Liberal, 70. 

" in Maine, 116. 

44 in N. J. and Del., 87. 

Prime, Ebenezer, 157. 

Principle, A Great, Established, 173, 
174. 

Principle, Voluntary, Influence of, 
194. 

Procter, David C, 358. 

Puritanism, A Religious Force, 27, 33. 

Puritans, 41. 

" in Virginia, 66, 68. 

Queen Elizabeth, 15, 30, 32. 



57° 



INDEX. 



Quakers, 177, 181, rS6, 200. 

Ralston, Samuel, 261. 
Reading House, Morris*, 122, 125. 
Rector, The Term, 20, 21. 
Reed, Isaac, 359, 360. 
Religion, How Promoted, 274 

" in Towns on the Mississip- 
pi, 340. 
Reserve, Western, 283. 293, 
Responsibility, Partial, 22, 159. 

'.♦ Individual, 161, 180, 

185, 193, 344, 380, 387, 459, 466. 
Resumption of Specie Payments, 488. 
Reunion, The, 155. 

(and), 480-485. 
11 Basis of, 484. 
Revision Completed, 565. 
Revival, Great, The, 224-229. 
44 in Colleges, 305. 
" Effects of, 242. 
, " in the South, 273. 
44 Numerous, 345-348. 
44 of 1857, 4°9- 
Rice, David (Father), 214, 227, 291. 

" John Holt, 257, 344, 394. 
Richards, James, 318, 448. 
Robinson, Edward, 493-497. 

44 William, 139. 

Rodgers, John, 141, 208, 245. 
Romeyn, John Broadhead, 247, 248. 
Royce, Samuel, 340, 341. 

Sabbath, Influence of, 46. 
44 Continental, 48. 
44 Desecration of, 218, 367. 
44 Mails (Sunday), 349, 350. 
44 Respected, 486. 
Schools, Classical, 130, 131. 
Secession of Synods, 469. 
Sevier, Col. (Elder), 145, 146. 
Seminaries, Theological, Auburn, 
318; Lane, 328; Maryville, 322; 
Princeton, 250; S. Hanover, 319; 
Union, Virginia, 323; Union, N. 
Y. City, 428,-429; Western, 319. 
Shedd, Wm. G. T., 503, 504. 
Shelby, Col. (Elder), 145, 146. 
Skinner, Thomas H., 253, 254. 
Skelton, Samuel, 69. 
Slavery, 444, 452, 466. 
Smith, S. Stanhope, 128. 
44 John Blair, 238. 
44 Joseph, 132. 
41 Henry Boynton, 501, 502. 
Society, Missionary, The First, 94. 
" For P. G. F. Parts, 94. 



Society, National, Formed, 265. 
Society's Educational, 266, 341, 387. 
Society, Irresponsibility of, 386, 433. 
Spring, Gardiner, 248, 349, 472. 
Sports, Book of, 40. 
Statements, Misleading, 426. 
Stephenson, Jas. W., 334, 335. 
Stobo, Archibald, 89, 93. 
Study on Two Lines, 134. 
Subscription, Strict, 114, 116. 
Succession, Apostolic, 24. 
Sunday School Scholars, 488. 
St. Louis, Religious Character, 367. 
Synod, Constituted, 107. 
Synods, Consolidated, 486. 

Taggart, Samuel, 246. 
Taylor, Nathaniel L. W., 393, 394. 
Temperance, 244, 307. 
Tennent, William, no, in. 

44 Gilbert, 118. 
Toleration Act, 75, 124, 142, 167, 168. 
Test and Schism Act, 109. 
Thomson, John, 115. 
Training a Household, 52. 

44 a Nation, 195. 
Translations of the Bible, 10. 
Trials and Persecutions, 52. 
Tyndale, William, 10, n. 

Union of Church and State, 6, 28, 30. 
44 Separation of, 175-194. 
44 Meetings, 171, 277. 

Vesey, William, 101, 102, 103. 
Vagrants (Clerical), 162. 

War (1812), Effects of, 300. 
Washington, George, 204, 208. 
Wesley, John and Charles, 35, 149. 
Whitney, Eli, 140. 
Whitefield, George, 149, 151. 
Wick, William, 294. 
Williams, Roger, 21, 22. 
Witherspoon, John, 208. 
Wilson, James P., 252. 

44 Joshua L., 292, 346, 409, 

412, 414, 422, 456. 
Woman's Self-denying Labors, 297, 

378. 
Woman's Work, 485. 
Woods, Leonard, 393, 463. 
Worthies, Presbyterian, Sec. XXVI., 

XXVII.,andL. 
Wyclif, John, 9, 34. 



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